Arne Slot has just received the complete package – and no, it’s not a new signing .
The new Liverpool head coach is learning more and more about his squad by the day, and he’s about to find out more. Ahead of the Reds’ first game out in the United States against Real Betis, Diogo Jota has reported back to training with his teammates.
He’ll be followed by Ibrahima Konate and Ryan Gravenberch in due course , but the return of the Portugal international is a huge boost. It also presents Slot with a major challenge.
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Having been left somewhat frustrated on the bench by Roberto Martinez at Euro 2024, Jota should arrive fully fit in Pittsburgh. Liverpool fans and Jurgen Klopp know only too well how much of a novelty that is for the 27-year-old.
Arguably the Reds’ most lethal player in front of goal, there has never been any doubt over Jota’s ability. The problem, as Klopp detailed back in February, has been getting him out on the pitch.
"He just has it. He’s a complete package," Klopp enthused before explaining the issues that have followed Jota during his time at Liverpool. "With, and he knows that, everyone’s that, with a few injuries at the wrong time – a few too many as well, like unlucky, wow.
"Diogo gets, in each game, knocks like crazy. If I go through the lists of medical reports I got over the years since Diogo is here, he’s in each and every one of them. And not as ‘injured’, just as ‘has a bruise’, ‘has a knock’, ‘has that’, ‘has that’. All after each game. So he really gets it.
"And on top of that, a couple of times he was out for absolutely too long, otherwise his numbers would look completely different. He was in a really good shape before he got injured, came back, was in a good shape. You can see he is literally flying in the moment, everything looks light, looks fresh, looks explosive, and on top of that, as he always was, an extremely smart footballer."
Ironically, those comments came just a couple of weeks before Jota picked up another injury at Brentford that kept him out for another two months. In fairness, there wasn’t much he could do to avoid what was a poor challenge, but it rather summed up his luck.
With the slate now effectively wiped clean, Slot has to find a way of getting one of Liverpool’s most lethal weapons out on the pitch more. As Klopp said, Jota’s record would surely even better had he not had some of the worst luck imaginable, and his numbers are not shabby anyway considering the amount of time he’s spent on the pitch.
When you look at some of the league games he missed last season – both draws against Manchester United, the draw with Arsenal at Anfield , the defeat at Everton – it’s hard not to imagine he could have changed the eventual outcome of the title race for the Reds. Slot now needs to make sure the same sort of questions aren’t being asked this time next year.
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