Liverpool set for huge squad boost as Jurgen Klopp ‘game-breaker’ returns

Liverpool bank on huge squad boost as Jurgen Klopp returns as ‘game-breaker’

Diogo Jota is set for a first-team return to Liverpool – and the Reds have had a major problem in his absence

Things are rarely that simple in football. But the two related facts are too obvious to be just a coincidence for Liverpool.

Diogo Jota hasn’t scored in the Premier League since scoring in the 2-2 draw at Manchester City in April, a wait that has now stretched for almost 10 months.

And since then, Liverpool have played 27 top-flight games and conceded 16 first goals. While the woes of the defense have been well documented, what may have been overlooked until recently was the problems at the other end of the pitch, where the Reds struggled to capitalize on the chances that they continue to create. While Mohamed Salah has scored a staggering 17 goals and Darwin Nunez a staggering 10 times this season, there’s no doubt Jurgen Klopp’s side lacked a certain quality that has become a hallmark of Jota’s time at Anfield .

The striker scored 21 times for Liverpool last season, with 14 scoring the opener of the game – starting with the season opener in a 3-0 win at Norwich City – while six other times were decisive runners-up goals, half of which came with the score already open.

It is not for nothing that the Portuguese is known as the “killer” of the Reds, the player who undoubtedly scores the all-important first goal that so often sets the tone for the rest of the game.

Jota, of course, missed all but eight games of Liverpool’s increasingly difficult season, having started just four games. He dished up five assists in that short spell, including three when he gifted Salah a quick Champions League hat-trick off the bench at Rangers in October. Indeed, the 26-year-old moved one step closer to a full game despite being on a stretcher four days after appearing at Ibrox after picking up a calf injury in extra time in their home win against Man City. to see and therefore missed the World Cup. Jota had already missed most of pre-season and the first month of the new season after aggravating a hamstring problem at the start of the Far East tour.

The striker scored 21 goals for Liverpool last season, 14 of which were the first goal of the match – starting with the season opener in their 3-0 win at Norwich City – while six more were the second goal crucial, half of which were on the scored goal already opened the scoring.

It’s not for nothing that the Portuguese is known as the Reds’ ‘game breaker’, the player likely to score that all-important first goal that so often sets the tone for the rest of the game.

Jota of course missed all eight games of an increasingly torturous Liverpool season, only four of which have started. He dished up five assists in that short spell, including three when he gifted Salah a quick Champions League hat-trick off the bench at Rangers in October.

Indeed, the closest the 26-year-old got to playing a full game was when he left on a stretcher after sustaining an extra-time calf injury in the home win over Manchester City four days after his Ibrox cameo, after which He is not seen in the first team, missing the World Cup. Jota had already missed most of pre-season and the first month of the new season after aggravating a hamstring problem at the start of the Far East tour.

The Portuguese are now close to returning to the first team, with the forward training on Wednesday after making an appearance on the grounds of AXA Training Center last week, although Monday’s visit to Anfield is likely to come too far Soon. Liverpool have been careful not to rush their comeback, recalling Luis Díaz’s devastating setback in November.

Having signed a contract extension in August that will keep him at the club for a further four years, Jota clearly has the long-standing trust of Klopp and the coaching staff in him. But he will no doubt have been intrigued that last month Liverpool signed for their third consecutive transfer window a player – Cody Gakpo after Darwin Nunez and Diaz – who can play either on the left wing or in the center of attack, the two positions of where Jota deals the most damage to enemy defenses.

The impressive form of Diaz and the now deceased Sadio Mane in the final months of last season has already had an impact on Jota. He has only started twice in the knockout stages of the Champions League, from which he was knocked out once at half-time with Liverpool trailing 2-0 in the semi-final second leg against Villarreal. Jota was also notably benched for Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur’s visits to Anfield.

However, the striker’s absence was felt all the more this season as he stayed on the touchline for a long time. Liverpool need their ‘decisive game’ while there is still something to play for this season.