Liverpool forward Diogo Jota has been named the Premier League Player of the Month for January 2024.
A hamstring injury had sidelined Jota for the entirety of December but the Portugal international came back with a bang, netting three goals in three games for Liverpool and even chipping in with a further two assists.
As a reward for his electric form, Jota has picked up the league’s Player of the Month award for the first time in his career, seeing off competition from fellow Liverpool star Conor Bradley.
Luton’s Elijah Adebayo, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes and Tottenham’s Richarlison were also nominated for the prize.
Jota becomes the second Liverpool player to win the award this season, following on from Mohamed Salah in October.
When Jota came back from his hamstring injury, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp did not shy away from heaping praise on the Portugal international.
Asked what makes Jota so crucial, Klopp explained: “His football brain, he is a very smart footballer, that’s how it is. He understands the game particularly well.
“I really think Portugal is blessed with some of these kind of players who really understand the game on a different level – and he is one of them, definitely. It gives him a chance to see situations slightly earlier, to adapt to different things the opponent is doing a little bit quicker. That’s it, on top of that he is both-footed and a great finisher.
“I love Diogo’s story, now he is back and I hope he is back for the next 10 years and stuff like this, all of that, but Diogo missed chances as well, that’s how it is. That he comes back and scores with the first he has is fantastic, but then it’s always the story that the others didn’t score and now he is coming back… ‘Finally Diogo is scoring!'”
