A bizarre transfer rumour has emerged linking Diogo Jota with a £62 million move away from Liverpool, but supporters should ignore claims of his exit.
In a wide-ranging story on Liverpool’s transfer plans for the summer, Jacque Talbot of Football Transfers made a series of claims on the likes of Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount and Josko Gvardiol.
Buried in his report was a surprising line that, along with Nat Phillips, Kostas Tsimikas, Caoimhin Kelleher and Joel Matip, Jota “could leave, with Liverpool set to demand €70m for the attacker.”
Though it is maintained that Jota is “happy at Liverpool,” elsewhere Talbot linked Newcastle with the pursuit of a player valued at £62 million.
This has, unsurprisingly, led to speculation among supporters, with many concerned over the loss of a player who has scored 34 goals in 99 games since joining from Wolves in 2020.
But it is very unlikely that Liverpool would countenance the sale of Jota this summer.
Primarily, it should be pointed out that the 26-year-old signed a new five-year contract with the club as recently as August.
Since then, a four-month layoff has plagued his campaign, but upon his recovery, Jota has been swiftly brought back into a focal role, including back-to-back starts against Crystal Palace and Wolves.
Talbot’s assertion appears to be largely based off the success of the Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah trio in the 7-0 win over Man United.
It is understandable that those three players could now be considered part of the first-choice attack, but to then simply cast Jota aside would be negligent.
That is particularly the case in a summer that will see Roberto Firmino leave after eight years with the club.
Only on Monday, the Telegraph‘s Chris Bascombe explained that “attacking responsibilities will be shared more than in previous years” when the onus had been solely on Salah, Firmino and Sadio Mane.
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