According to a report from the Telegraph, Tottenham and Arsenal are monitoring the progress of highly-rated Benfica forward, Jota. Liverpool are also believed to be interested in the 19-year-old, who is valued at €30 million if he’s sold this summer by Benfica.
Tottenham scouted Jota in last Thursday’s Europa League win over Dinamo Zagreb. The Portuguese starlet has broken into Benfica’s senior side since the turn of the year. His contract runs until 2022 and Benfica want to tie him down to a new deal that will substantially increase the buy-out clause in his contract, adds the report.
Given the talent he is and the promise he has shown to break into Benfica’s first-team, Tottenham should beat the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool to sign Jota.
Tottenham are mainly dependent for goals on Harry Kane and as usual, he is the club’s highest goal-scorer this season. But to a large extent this season, Son Heung-min has shared the responsibility of scoring goals with Kane. Son has been a revelation this season, establishing himself as one of the first names on Mauricio Pochettino’s team-sheet.
But other than Kane and Son, Tottenham have struggled to find goals. Dele Alli has endured an injury-plagued campaign, while Lucas Moura has faded completely after enjoying a fine start to this season. Since single-handedly ripping apart Manchester United at Old Trafford earlier in 2018, the diminutive Brazilian has struggled to make an impact.
A lack of goals from the attacking players has somewhat caused a big problem and is one of the many reasons why Tottenham’s title challenge came to an end earlier this month. That being said, it’s important to invest on a new forward in the summer and Pochettino should splash the cash to sign Jota.
Predominantly a left winger, Jota can play on the right or through the middle without much fuss. The young Portuguese is one of the rising stars at Benfica and has impressed the bystanders by troubling the defenders with a combination of speed, clinical finishing and unpredictable movement in the youth ranks.
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The teenager backs his ability and likes to play with conviction, making himself an absolute nuisance for defenders. Furthermore, Jota’s directness to take on defenders and beat them with his pace and dribbling skills on the ball should make him a good fit for Pochettino’s expansive brand of football.
While the 19-year-old is proving to be some talent at Benfica, he will definitely need time to adapt to Pochettino’s tactics but adding a player of Jota’s potential will only help Tottenham in the future. Spurs have lofty ambitions and adding a precocious talent like Jota will go a long way in helping them achieve that.