Jota – Fantasy Premier League Potential

Aston Villa have completed the signing of Jota from Birmingham City on a two year deal for an undisclosed fee, whilst Aston Villa’s Gary Gardner has gone the opposite direction joining the Blues.

The Spaniard is Villa’s first signing since their play-off final victory against Derby and as they return to the Premier League they will certainly be looking to strengthen the squad to ensure they remain in the Premier League. Dean Smith has worked with Jota previously and has said the following:

“I worked with Jota at Brentford. He’s a superb, talented player and Birmingham signed him as their record transfer. I’m really happy to have him back working with us. He’s got great ability, great balance and a great eye for both goals and assists.”

The 27 year old will bring bags of experience as he had played for Celta Vigo, Eibar, Real Madrid Castilla and Brentford. Jota has said:

“It’s important for me to come and play in the Premier League. I’ve been looking for this for some years. I think I am in a good club to play there. This is one of England’s best clubs.”

Player History

Jota started his career at Celta Vigo, as he joined the youth team at the age of 13, whilst he made his first team debut in 2011 against Barcelona B. In the 2010/11 season he made just 4 appearances, however it was during the 2011/12 season he had his most successful season with Celta’s B team, playing 36 games and scoring on 16 occasions.

Jota then had loan spells at Real Madrid Castilla during the 2012/13 season and Eibar during the 2013/14 season; with the latter being the more successful spell. During his time at Eibar, Jota managed to score 11 goals in 35 games, helping his team to promotion to La Liga.

In 2014, Jota signed a 3 year deal with Championship team Brentford for an undisclosed fee. His first season saw him score 11 goals during 42 games, however his second season with the club was cut short as he picked up a serious ligament injury on the opening fixture of the season. After surgery, he returned to action in the December, but re-joined Eibar on an 18 month loan deal. He went on to make 20 appearances before being recalled by Brentford. During the second half of the 2016/17 season Jota went on to score 12 goals in 21 games.

In 2017 Birmingham City signed Jota for what was a club record signing. His first season wasn’t the best, as he played 32 games, scoring just 5 and assisting 2others, however during the 2018/19 season he managed to score 3 and provide 11 assists across 40 appearances.

Fantasy Football Potential

Jota has shown glimpses of class during his career with an attaching return ever 2.98 games, being every 2.38 games in which he has started. Arguably his best season for form was his spell with Brentford during the 2016/17 season as he scored 12, assisted 5 during 19 league starts (attacking return ever 1.12 games).

Jota clearly has the capability to find the back of the net and if he can nail down a starting spot in this Villa side he could be one of those cheaper fantasy picks that enable the premium players. Jota tends to play as a winger or attacking midfielder and will be good competition for the likes of Jack Grealish and Anwar El Ghazi. In Fantasy Premier League he will most likely be classified as a midfielder, priced between £4.5m-£5.5m and should therefore be one to monitor during pre-season and the first few fixtures.

1 Response

  1. June 25, 2019

    […] 23 year old is Villa’s fourth signing of the transfer window after Jota, Anwar El Ghazi and Wesley Moraes, showing that Dean Smith is looking to increase the squad depth […]

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