The boss has praised his former defender, saying he has the attributes to step up from the Championship:

I think we did well before (at Sheffield Wednesday). We tried to bring in players who were not playing at other clubs, or players who were not targets for others. We put them into a high level that they were not playing before. Barry Bannan was a good example, Gary Hooper also. Fernando Forestieri was also not playing before at Watford. Maybe people did not know them, or they were not involved at their clubs. In this moment Fernando has a bad injury in the knee, so we do not know if he is ready to play. So, it would be difficult for him to play in the Premier League in this season. But if you ask me if he has the ability to play in the Premier League, then for sure he has.