Diogo Jota’s instant impact since arriving at Anfield this summer in a mega move from Wolves has garnered high praise for the Portuguese international from his club teammate Gini Wijnaldum.
Wijnaldum, who himself has been very impressive in recent times with his consistent run of form in the centre of the park for the Merseysiders, admitted that Jota’s immediate success in the Reds shirt has caught him by surprise, despite the Dutchman expecting Jota to thrive at Anfield following his goalscoring exploits for Wolves.
Jota had been an influential attacking presence in Nuno’s Wolves set up for a period of three years prior to sealing a big-money move to Jurgen Klopp’s side in mid-year, where the 23-year-old has already found the back of the net nine times in 15 outings.
“It’s going to be a really, really big game for him and also a game he can enjoy,” the 29-year-old midfielder told Liverpool’s official website, Liverpoolfc.com.
“I’m always happy when I play against Newcastle because that’s my only other team [in the Premier League]. For him I think it’s different because he played more seasons for Wolves than I played for Newcastle.
“I’m really impressed because I already knew how good he was, but now I can see that he’s even better than what we thought of him.
“Now we train with him, we play games with him, so we can really see what kind of player he is, what kind of quality player he is.
“I think he’s showed it with the start he’s had at the club.”
As Jota’s new team gear up to face the forward’s former outfit in Wolves on Sunday, the player will be hoping to become just the fourth in Premier League’s history books to find the back of the net in his first five home games.
