Wolverhampton Wanderers have established themselves as a regular fixture in the Premier League since their promotion from the Championship in 2017/18.
They have steered clear of any serious danger of relegation back down to the second division and have even enjoyed European nights at Molineux.
Former manager Nuno Espirito Santo deserves plenty of credit for his role in the club’s progression as he led the team to the Championship title before managing back-to-back seventh-place finishes in the Premier League and then a 13th-place finish in his final campaign before a move to Tottenham.
The Portuguese head coach’s excellent work in the transfer market played a significant part in his success at Wolves and one signing he had a masterclass with was forward Diogo Jota.
How did Diogo Jota perform at Wolves?
Nuno snapped the attacker up on loan in the Championship and the gem was an instant success as he enjoyed a terrific season in the second tier of English football, racking up 17 goals and six assists in 44 appearances.
His impressive form led to the club signing the striker from Atletico Madrid on a permanent basis for a fee in the region of £12.8m, which turned out to be a huge bargain.
Jota took to the Premier League like a duck to water by scoring nine goals and providing five assists in 33 outings during his debut campaign at that level, before plundering seven goals and one assist in 34 games the following year. He also managed nine goals and five assists in 14 European appearances for the club, in Europa League qualifying and group stage matches.
Was £45m a fair fee for Diogo Jota?
Yes
No
His excellent form for Wolves did not go unnoticed as Premier League giants Liverpool swooped in to sign the Portugal international, who reporter Alex Batt dubbed a “serious baller”, for a whopping £45m package in the summer of 2020.
The dynamo’s huge move to Anfield meant that Wolves made an impressive 252% profit on the 29-cap marksman, with that a sign of just how much Nuno struck gold by bringing him to the club on a permanent basis.
Jota, who journalist Callum Vurley once hailed as “clinical“, has scored 34 times in 99 first-team appearances for Liverpool since moving to Merseyside and Football Transfers now expect his transfer value (xTV) to be around £51m (€57.5m).
This suggests that the deal worked for all parties involved with Jurgen Klopp’s side gaining a reliable goalscorer and Wolves receiving a gigantic transfer fee for a player whose value has not soared much further beyond the £45m they received for his services in the subsequent three years.
Therefore, Nuno undeniably played a masterclass in signing, developing, and selling Jota during his time at Wolves and he may look back on his success with the forward as one of his finest pieces of work.