According to John Barnes, who says the forward’s electrifying style proves the Reds were correct not to sign Timo Werner, Diogo Jota “perfectly suits” Liverpool.
Since his £ 41 million ($55m) move to Anfield from Wolves in September, Jota has rapidly established himself as a fan favorite.
In his first 14 outings in all competitions with Jurgen Klopp’s side, the Portugal international scored nine times, with his latest effort coming in a 1-1 draw away on Saturday afternoon at Brighton.
Before setting their sights on Jota, Liverpool had been in the hunt for Werner, but in June the ex-RB Leipzig frontman ended up joining Chelsea for £ 47.5m ($ 63m).
While Werner was also a big hit at Chelsea, he wasn’t quite as prolific as the former Wolves star, and Barnes claims that a careful strategy finally ended up paying off for his old club in the transfer market.
The Reds Legend told BonusCodeBets, Timo Werner is doing well and I’m sure he might have suited into what Liverpool wanted, but Liverpool needs a player who wants to come to them.
From the financial point of view, without a doubt, they would have paid the £ 48m that Chelsea has for Werner, but maybe Werner had to promise that he would play every single week, as he does at Chelsea, and maybe not really have that in Liverpool, just as Jota hasn’t.
“He wouldn’t have been given a starting spot at Liverpool from Werner’s point of view. Maybe it’s a choice he made and one Liverpool made in terms of wanting the player who will be able to be part of a team like Jota is.
Jota not only plays well because he’s a very good player, but because he’s happy because he doesn’t play every game and he has the right attitude.
“What Klopp does with all the players is he looks at a player that can fit into what he wants and he knew Jota could do what he wanted, I’m sure Werner could have done the same so like with a lot of players at Liverpool I don’t think they’re improving, I think they’re at a club that suits their style perfectly and the way Liverpool play perfectly suits Jota.”
When Liverpool take on Ajax in the Champions League on Tuesday, Jota will be back in play, while Werner and Chelsea are set to make a trip to Seville a day later as their new European campaign begins.