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If Wolves are promoted from the Championship, Diogo Jota will be joining them in the Premier League.
A permanent deal was agreed for Jota on Tuesday, as the club confirmed that, following the end of the season, they’ll be exercising their option to ensure the Portuguese attacker’s loan move from Atletico Madrid is made permanent.
Jota joined Wolves on a season-long loan from Atleti in July, reuniting the product of Pacos de Ferreira with Nuno Espirito Santo, who managed the footballer at FC Porto. The 21-year-old boasts 11 goals and four assists while starting in all 29 of the club’s Championship games this season, and is the English club’s joint-top scorer in all competitions.
“Diogo has been an important player for Wolves this year and his abilities are clear for everybody to see,” Jeff Shi, Wolves’ executive chairman, said. “As a management group, our aim is to provide the head coach with a playing squad that gives him the best possible chance to succeed and I believe Diogo is certainly a player that does that, and will continue to do that beyond this season. Whilst the agreement won’t be fully confirmed until July 1, by making this statement of our intent, it again allows us to be as open and honest with the fans as we can be with regards to how we wish to take the club and the squad forward.
“Of course, in addition to Diogo, we have a number of players who are also part of the playing squad under loan agreements, and we will continue to make assessments of the whole playing group as we progress through the season. By moving to confirm terms with Diogo, and the signing of Helder Costa last winter, it shows that we can provide a great environment for loan players to thrive and develop in Wolves, and we are sure that this will continue with other players who have come in and successfully committed themselves to the club.”
Jota is a revelation at Wolves. His desire to come infield allows Barry Douglas to bomb forward on the overlap, and the tactic is one of the main reasons for the club’s success this season. Among Championship footballers, he ranks sixth in dribbles per game and second in shots on target per game.
As the Guardian’s Martin Laurence wrote: “If Wolves are trying to emulate Chelsea’s style of play, then Jota is the Eden Hazard of the side.”
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