Portuguese youngster Diogo Jota is beginning to build a long list of admirers, according to reports, with Atletico Madrid joining Arsenal and Manchester United in being interested in the player.
According to the Madrid-based outlet Marca (via TEAMtalk), Atleti are wanting to bring their former player back to the club after he departed in July 2017 originally on a loan deal.
Three years on and both Wolves and Diogo Jota are a completely different proposition. He first came when the side were in the Championship, but now he has international caps to his name, as well as 58 Premier League games and 21 goal contributions, with 15 goals and six assists.
Since he has been at the club, he has racked up 120 appearances, scored 43 goals and assisted 19 times, so you can understand why teams would be after a 23-year-old winger with those kinds of statistics.
Previously, I have argued that this season is enough for Wolves to be able to fight off both Arsenal and Manchester United, though Atletico Madrid could prove a whole different prospect.
Firstly, the player has unfinished business at Atleti. He joined from Pacos Ferreira as a youngster but failed to make an appearance at Atleti before being shipped onto Porto on loan before Wolves. For this reason, he may now have something within him which wants to prove himself at that level, and that could be the motivation.
Could you see Diogo Jota leaving in the summer?
Not sure
No chance
Yes I can
That being said, they are having one of their worst seasons for a while and are not currently in the qualification spaces, but they are just one point off Real Sociedad in sixth and two points off Sevilla in third.
Secondly, Atletico are in a better position than Arsenal and Manchester United. They are the only team out of those interested that are in the Champions League, qualifying for the final eight after knocking out the holders Liverpool.
According to Transfermarkt, he is worth a juicy £31.5m, but realistically Atletico are going to have to pay much more than that if they want him – and that could prove to be Nuno Espirito Santo’s biggest test if they come knocking.
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