According to reports, Premier League club West Ham United are eyeing a move for Diego Jota as Slaven Bilic runs the danger of losing Argentine Manuel Lanzini this summer. The Spanish playmaker has earned some rave reviews in the Championship last season and is wanted by numerous sides that include newly promoted Newcastle United.
The Hammers have made some brilliant reinforcements this summer that pretty much upgrades their whole squad from last season. Following the terrible summer shopping last year, Bilic had a difficult time due to his side’s patchy form and superstar Dimitri Payet’s departure. They hovered over the relegation zone for a long time before a late resurgence kept them up.
They finished the season in the 11th position with just 45 points in 38 games, and Bilic knows well that a similar occurrence this time would probably see him get the sack. Their desperation for a better shopping season was quite clear and this time, the Irons didn’t make any mistake in identifying their needs. In Javier Hernandez, Marko Arnautovic and Pablo Zabaleta, Bilic has players who can get the job done against the toughest of opponents in the league.
However, West Ham are in danger of losing yet another star this season in Lanzini, who has been Liverpool’s top priority as the sale of Phillipe Coutinho to Barcelona edges closer. Bilic cannot really do much in stopping it for sure except for finding a potential replacement and Brentford’s Diego Jota pretty much fits the requirement.
The 26-year-old Spanish playmaker has had quite an astounding rise in his career. In 2014, the Bees had bought him from La Liga side Celta de Vigo, which had created quite a hype. But, as is often the case with youngsters coming to England, he felt unsettled in the country for familial reasons and despite a decent run under the then manager Mark Warburton, wanted to return.
Brentford wasn’t willing to part ways with such a quality player and decided to loan him out to Spanish side SD Eibar for eighteen months to get his things sorted. He managed to play only 18 games in over two seasons before the Bees called him back regardless of his ongoing form. He was a success in England where he had scored 11 goals in a season, giving the club every reason to believe in him.
Jota did well yet again this time returning last winter, banging in 12 goals and five assists in the last 19 games of the season. Now, being more settled in England and a proven record in the country, he is much less of a gamble and West Ham might just manage to get a star material for the small price.
