Diogo Jota is already proving to be the ideal No. 9 for Arne Slot’s Liverpool – Liverpool FC

If there was any debate over who Liverpool’s best option was to lead the line under Arne Slot, Diogo Jota has answered it emphatically.

Who was Liverpool’s quietest player away to Man United? It was Jota, right?

Almost every other Liverpool player made more of an impression, but that’s not to say he didn’t also play well.

There was one moment that summed up the subtle brilliance of Jota, however, coming in the lead up to Luis Diaz‘s opener.

The No. 20 raced towards goal as Ryan Gravenberch marauded forward, gesturing for the ball to end up at the back post.

Both Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai were loitering there, rather than Jota, and the Colombian powered home Mohamed Salah‘s cross.

On the face of it, it doesn’t look like much, but the tactical nous that Jota showed in that moment summed up his footballing IQ.

Lesser attackers would simply be thinking about getting into a goalscoring position, but Liverpool’s centre-forward was aware of everything going on around him in a cauldron of pressure.

This level of intelligence is something Jurgen Klopp always admired about Jota, saying of him last December:

“He understands the game really well.

“He understands it on a different level, he sees situations slightly earlier to adapt quicker, he’s both-footed and a great finisher.”

It goes without saying that, as was the case with Klopp, Slot and Jota have hit the ground running, and it’s easy to see why.

The perfect Slot striker

In these opening three games of the season Jota has been electric, bagging a goal and an assist apiece and proving to be the perfect foil for Salah and Diaz.

His ability to time runs into the box, act as a running decoy for others and put himself about have played a big role in Liverpool’s 100 percent start.

Slot’s style requires a striker who possesses some of Roberto Firmino‘s attributes, in terms of an ability to link with others, a high level of intelligence and fundamental hard work, and Jota has all of those things.

While not yet flying on the goal front this term – his 13 percent shot accuracy is surprisingly low – he is also arguably Liverpool’s best finisher.

Last season, Jota only missed three big chances in the Premier League compared to Salah’s 17 – outperforming his xG by +4.7 to Salah’s underperforming -2.5 – while 46.3 percent of his shots hit the target, ahead of the Egyptian (43.9%), Darwin Nunez (43%), Cody Gakpo (36.4%) and Diaz (34%).

His industry is also admirable, with only Szoboszlai running further in a game in 2024/25 to date per the Mail‘s Lewis Steele, and the fact that Jota covered 11.4km at United highlights his influence amid a ‘quiet’ performance.

At Wolves, and with Klopp at times, Jota was used in a wide role, but he has made it clear how happy he is taking up an exclusive central berth under Slot.

“I think here [Slot] wants our wingers a lot more in one-v-ones and I think we have better options than myself!” Jota said after the opening-day win at Ipswich.

“If I stay in the middle and wait for those chances to come in and score them, I think that is what I do the best so you can take that into the season.”

Fans spent the summer wondering who would start centrally for Slot, but it has become clear very quickly who his leading man is.

Jota > Nunez

Jota’s place in the team was always going to come at the expense of someone else and Nunez has had to settle for a cameo role so far this season.

Gakpo has too, but Slot appears likely to use him on the left wing in general.

For all of Nunez’s many attributes, it is easy to see why his new boss considers Jota a superior option.

The pair are chalk and cheese, with Nunez an explosive footballer who plays on instinct, having the potential to go from sublime to ridiculous in the space of seconds.

Jota is more of a manager’s dream, making consistently good decisions, displaying ruthlessness in front of goal and absorbing tactical information; the head coach could be seen pulling him for conversations in-game throughout the pre-season friendlies.

In fact, Slot’s praise of his star striker during pre-season not only summed up his admiration for him, but also acted as a warning shot to the likes of Nunez.

“It helps to have a striker who is smart and intelligent and knows when to make the deeper runs,” the head coach said.

There were murmurs around a summer exit for Nunez and the current signs do suggest that Slot doesn’t yet consider him a key man who can deliver want he wants.

It is early days, but he has been fit for every match and limited to just 32 minutes of action – only Kostas Tsimikas, Harvey Elliott and Wataru Endo have made all three squads and featured less.

Opinion seems split over whether Nunez has a long-term future at Liverpool, but even if he stays, he has a huge amount of work to do to usurp Jota.

Can Jota avoid injury?

If Jota had the availability of Salah, the sky would be the limit for him in terms of being one of Europe’s top strikers.

As it is, fitness woes have dogged him in the four years since he joined Liverpool, limiting him to just 95 starts.

In comparison, Salah has started 177 games in that time.

Jota has only reached 20 Premier League starts once for Liverpool – a tally of 27 back in 2021/22 – and the Reds have been robbed of him far too often.

Part of the reason for this is the fact that he puts his body on the line, risking danger and finding him on the receiving end of nasty tackles.

Sadly, there is always a niggling feeling that a new injury is never far away for Jota, and losing him for a chunk of action would be more damaging than ever this season.

But there is also sense that this is a new horizon for Liverpool in terms of load management, with Slot and his head of performance Ruben Peeters renowned for not only preserving fitness but also improving it.

At 27, Jota is a player right in his prime, and his unnerving accuracy in front of goal and football brain make him an integral player for Slot.

Anything feels possible for Liverpool this season if he stays fit. Let’s just hope that isn’t too big an ‘if’.