"An important year for him" - Steve Nicol on Liverpool forward

Former Liverpool player Steve Nicol believes that the next 12 months are "important" for Reds forward Diogo Jota.

The Portugal international was behind the likes of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane in the pecking order for the second-half of last season.

Mane has departed the club and joined Bayern Munich this summer. However, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has replaced the winger with Darwin Nunez from Benfica.

The club paid £67.50 million for the Uruguay international, so it would be fair to assume that he starts most games for the Reds next season.

Many people believe that Salah, Diaz and Nunez will be Klopp's main attacking options next campaign.

Therefore, Nicol has implied that Jota will have to take his chances if he does not want to become a full-time squad at Anfield.

He said the following on ESPN FC (04:36): “Will he be happy as a super-sub? I would expect not.

“In his mind, if I am him, I am thinking, ‘This is a big game for me because I don’t want to be coming off the bench all the time’. So I think this is an important year for him.”

Anfield Watch Verdict

We can see where Nicol is coming from. Jota is 25 years of age, so he is in the prime of his career.

The forward won't want to be sitting on the bench too often. Jota has been pretty good for Liverpool.

The Portugal international has scored 34 goals and registered nine assists in 85 appearances for the club's first-team.

But, with the arrival of Nunez, Jota will have to work hard to become a regular in Klopp's XI.