Why Aston Villa parting ways with Jota is the right move

According to the Express & Star, Aston Villa have confirmed the departure of Jota after reaching a mutual agreement to terminate his contract at Villa Park. 

The 29-year-old joined the Villans from Birmingham City for an undisclosed fee last summer in a deal that saw Gary Gardner go the other way to St. Andrew’s. However, the Spaniard’s reunion with his former Brentford boss Dean Smith at Villa Park wasn’t really spectacular as Jota struggled to make a big impression in the Premier League.

Jota still had one year left on his contract with the Midlands outfit but both the player and the club saw fit to cut all ties. The playmaker has since completed a move to Deportivo Alaves in the La Liga.

Profile

Jota rose through the youth ranks of Celta Vigo but he featured largely for the club’s reserve side in the third-tier, making just 4 first-team appearances. He spent time on loan with Real Madrid’s reserves and Eibar in the Spanish second-tier, helping the latter clinch promotion to the La Liga with an impressive tally of 11 goals and 3 assists during the 2013-14 season.

The left-footed ace went on to establish himself as one of the best playmakers in the EFL Championship following his move to Brentford in the summer of 2014. Jota was transferred to fellow second-tier rivals Birmingham City in 2017 after accumulating an impressive tally of 23 goals and 11 assists in 78 appearances for the Bees.

Jota didn’t really make a massive impact at Birmingham but he still managed to rack up some decent numbers in the Championship, thus paving the way for a transfer to newly-promoted Aston Villa last summer. However, he managed just 16 appearances in all competitions for Dean Smith’s side last season, registering a goal and two assists.

Jota’s future at Villa Park looked gloomy

Jota was among the low-key additions to come through the door as a part of Aston Villa’s spending spree last summer following their promotion to the top-flight. The fans would have expected the Spaniard to make the step up to the PL after establishing himself as a quality playmaker at the Championship level, but the 29-year-old failed to live up to those expectations.

The former Celta Vigo graduate started Villa’s opening five league fixtures in the previous campaign and set up Wesley Moraes’ goal with a sumptuous assist in a 2-0 win over Everton. That, however, was just a flash in the pan and Jota eventually lost his place in the side following a string of unimpressive displays.

The attacking midfielder found himself behind the likes of Trezeguet, Anwar El Ghazi and Jack Grealish in Smith’s pecking order, and was left to gather dust on the sidelines as Villa somehow saved themselves from relegation last season. 

And the writing seemed to be on the wall for Jota following the arrival of Bertrand Traore from Lyon. Jota made only two substitute appearances in the Carabao Cup fixtures for Villa and it looked pretty clear that Smith didn’t consider him to be an integral part of his plans moving forward.

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Verdict

All in all, Aston Villa’s decision to part ways with Jota seems like a fair settlement for both the club as well as the player. The Spaniard struggled to prove his credentials in the PL but that’s certainly not the end of the world for him.

Jota still has a lot of football left in him at 29 and he will be hoping to resurrect his career at Alaves in his homeland.