Lucca: Nottingham Forest ‘was my first choice, I’m hungry’

Lorenzo Lucca says that he is hungry for goals and to win matches at his new club, Nottingham Forest, who he says was his ‘first choice’ after leaving Napoli. 

The Italy international has been officially unveiled as a new Nottingham Forest player, joining on loan with an option to buy from Napoli for a total package of around €40mi on Friday. 

“I’m very proud to wear this important, historic shirt and playing in the Premier League is an honour for me,” the towering Italian said in his first interview with Nottingham Forest. 

“It’s an honour that the club and the staff have given me this opportunity and I hope to pay them back for their trust with lots of goals.” 

Lucca says that he is honoured to be joining such a proud and historic club in Nottingham Forest. 

“I’m well aware of this club. I wanted to come, they wanted me a lot, so it was a choice from the heart because I really wanted to come here and I want to give everything for the team, and most importantly, to be helpful for the whole group.

“As I said before, as soon as Nottingham Forest called me with the chance to play in the Premier League, it was my first choice because playing in the Premier League has been a dream of mine since I was a child. And again, I want to thank the club and all the staff for giving me this chance.” 

This is Lucca’s first opportunity in the Premier League, but it is not his first experience of playing abroad, following a loan spell with Ajax in 2022-23. 

“Obviously, it helped me grow a lot as I was still quite young. I’m happy to be here in England, a beautiful country and as I said before, I want to give my contribution to the team and try to help them.” 

And when asked what fans should expect from him as a striker, Lucca said: “I’m a hungry player, willing to prove myself, score goals and help the team win as many games as possible.”