Scout Report – Diogo Jota
Atletico Madrid winger Diogo Jota has joined Championship big spenders Wolverhampton Wanderers on a season-long loan, with the Black Country having an option to buy at that point.
The 20-year-old attacking midfielder spent last season on loan at Portuguese side Porto, where he played under Wolves head coach Nuno Espirito Santo.
Jota started his career in his homeland with Pacos Ferreira and joined Atletico on a five-year deal last summer. With the player making the switch to Wolves, let’s see who Jota really is and what he would bring to the table.
History
Born in Porto, Jota unsurprisingly played his academy football locally with Gondomar. After 8 years, he was snapped up by Pacos Ferreira and in 2014, he made his senior debut for the club. Having made 45 appearances for the Primeira Liga club and scoring an impressive 15 goals, he was signed by Atletico Madrid on a five-year deal in 2016.
In order to aid his development, Atletico signed Jota and sent him back to Portugal on a loan deal with giants Porto. While on loan there, he played 27 league games, scoring 8 times, including a hat-trick, as well as two domestic cup matches and 8 Champions League games.
His better performances last season were generally reserved for Europe’s top competition, showing his class as well as his potential. However, with no place for him at Atletico right now and Porto’s policy being to sell their main assets rather than buy new ones, he is available to come to England.
Style Of Play
An excellent passer of the ball and one who likes to start out wide, Jota prefers the left-hand side of the pitch and cutting in onto his right foot. This is borne out in the fact he provided just 0.3 crosses per game in the Primeira Liga last term, but 0.9 key passes per game in total, leading to 5 assists in just 15 starts.
Don’t expect Jota to stay out wide but to move freely. Given the penchant for fellow countryman Helder Costa to mirror this style on the other wing, Wolves can expect the middle of their attack to look pretty tasty with most goals being supplied from fairly central positions, as long as these two don’t get in each other’s way.
His Future
At 20 and given his very recent Primeira Liga and Champions League exploits, it’s frankly surprising that he has signed for Wolves, even on loan. He has tons of potential and may reach the very top, though the same can be said about the entire club just now. So perhaps, they are a fair match.
Jota has been capped 10 times by Portugal’s under-21 team but even at this stage, he may have one eye on next year’s World Cup in Russia. So watch out for some startling displays in a league which frankly may be below him.