Former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Ryan Bennett has named Liverpool’s Diogo Jota as the best player he’s shared a pitch with.
The two spent three years together at Wolves between 2017 and 2020. And speaking to Birmingham Live, Bennett says Jota left a big impression on him.
“Jota was very good because of the positions he picks up,” said the 32-year-old. “Jota, Ruben [Neves] and Joao [Moutinho] stand out. I’ve never seen another player in the world that can do what Adama [Traore] does. As an overall I would say Diogo [is the best player he’s played with].
Given the quality that the likes of Moutinho, Neves and Traore possess, that’s a good feather in the Liverpool man’s cap.
Injury harming Jota’s potential
How we miss seeing Jota tearing around the pitch for Liverpool. It has felt an age since the 26-year-old last played for the Reds.
In fact, it has now been two months since the Portugal man injured a hamstring against Manchester City.
Since then, he’s missed eight Liverpool games and an ultimately unsuccessful World Cup for his country. Not set to be back until February, Jota will miss a fair few more before he returns.
It’s unfortunate, but time out injured could begin to define his career at Anfield. That may seem a little unfair on a player who scored twenty-one goals last season. But the fact is that Jota has missed too much football since his £45m move in 2020.
He was brilliant during the first half of 2019/20, that’s true. Though after picking up a knee injury in the winter, he only ended up featuring in half of Liverpool’s Premier League games.
Jota played much more last season, managing 55 appearances in total. But injury again interrupted his season in February. Although he recovered much quicker this time, he dropped to the bench and wasn’t quite the same since.
Finally, this season has been something of a nightmare for Jota. Not fit enough to play until September, the Portuguese has featured just eight times in 2022/23, failing to find the net.
There’ll still be time for him to turn things around in the New Year. But fingers crossed there are no more issues after that. As Bennett points out, he’s a superb player when available. Liverpool really miss him when he isn’t.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
