Once again, Wolves find themselves challenging for the European places.
Last term, they ended up in seventh place in the Premier League, qualifying for the Europa League in the process – they are currently in the last 16 of that tournament, having drawn 1-1 away at Olympiakos in the first leg of that round. Nuno Espirito Santo must continue to be commended for the job he is doing at Molineux.
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Diogo Jota has been a regular for his Portuguese compatriot throughout the campaign, scoring 15 goals in 37 games along the way. That has attracted plenty of interest from some of the bigger traditional clubs in English football – Manchester United were said to be prepared to offer £50m back in February, whilst Arsenal are now being linked with a move.
However, he is a player that the Midlands outfit can do without.
Here, we take a look at three reasons why he should be moved on…
Inconsistency
On paper, Jota’s goal record is not to be sniffed at. However, there are some caveats. He has actually only scored in nine matches in all competitions this season – he bagged back to back hat-tricks in Europe, for example, whilst he also scored braces against Brighton and Hove Albion and Norwich City.
In fact, there was a period in the Premier League during which he scored just two goals in 16 matches – not exactly the best return from a player attracting interest in such high places.
There was even a point when his own supporters were getting on his back due to the level of performances – there certainly remain questions over his consistency. Wolves are only on the up at the moment – it is surely only a matter of time before his failure to perform at his best on a regular basis becomes a real problem.
Daniel Podence
Wolves made just one major signing during the January transfer window – Daniel Podence joined the club from Olympiacos for a fee of £16.6m. Another Portuguese player joining the revolution with the Old Gold, the 24-year-old did relatively well with the Greek club, scoring 13 goals and providing 14 assists in 68 matches in all competitions.
The issue he currently faces is how to break into this Wolves team. He is a winger, having played slightly more on the right than the left, but he has next to no chance of displacing Adama Traore, who has six strikes and 10 assists to his name this term.
The left-wing, therefore, is more of a realistic role for him to take up, but Jota’s presence obviously makes that even more difficult. So far, he has started just one match for the club – the former Atletico Madrid man’s departure would surely see that number begin to rise.
£50m interest
As mentioned at the start of the article, the Red Devils were said to be interested in his services, with them preparing that £50m bid for the 23-year-old. That is a considerable amount of money. So far, the biggest sum Wolves have made from the sale of a senior player is the £15m they will receive for Helder Costa from Leeds United – any fee close to that rumoured £50m would be unheard of.
Jota may be a good player, but Wolves cannot sniff at that kind of money.
As such, they should not look to resist the temptation to move him on should the opportunity arise.