Jota Silva hasn’t featured as much as he would’ve liked for Nottingham Forest this season, leading to questions about his future at the club.
The Portuguese winger must be a popular player in the dressing room as Murillo named Jota as Forest’s unsung hero this season, despite his lack of starts.
In fact, this lack of starts led to January rumours that Jota could leave Forest, but he remained at the club without seeing his involvement in the Forest squad change dramatically.
Nuno Espírito Santo omitted Jota from the squad when Forest beat Spurs recently, too, leading to an expectation from Reds fans that the 25-year-old could leave in the summer. This expectation isn’t reflected by the player, though.
Photo by Jon Hobley | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Jon Hobley | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Jota Silva remains happy at Nottingham Forest
After the Spurs snub, Jota revealed he accepts his role at Forest, and his willingness to sacrifice his own personal ambition for the team was endearing to supporters.
How long can this sacrifice last, though? Well, according to Tom Collomosse at the Daily Mail, quite a while yet.
He said: “It’s a strange one. Jota was an effective performer in the first part of the campaign, even keeping Anthony Elanga out of the team at one stage.
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“This is Nuno, though: after a while, he settles on a small group of 13 or 14 players who he trusts and it is very difficult for players on the outside to break in. But Jota is believed to be happy at the club and is desperate to prove himself next season.”
His commitment to a career at the City Ground continues to impress and will only improve his standing with the Forest faithful.
However, it’s not just his attitude that will earn him opportunities, as Jota excels in a collection of stats that Espírito Santo must love.
Jota Silva is in the top 1% of wingers for key defensive stats
When Forest signed Jota, it was for his attacking output rather than his defensive capabilities, but the latter are so impressive that the Forest manager must feel incredibly lucky to have him in his ranks.
Statistic Jota Silva this season vs other wingers (top 5 leagues)
Tackles won per 90 1.49 Top 4%
Clearances per 90 1.81 Top 1%
Interceptions per 90 1.28 Top 1%
Fouls drawn per 90 2.45 Top 8%
Per FBref, Jota is a brilliant defender for Forest, finding himself in the top 1% of wingers across Europe’s top five leagues for both clearances and interceptions per 90 minutes.
He’s also in the top 4% of wingers for tackles won per game, as well as the top 8% for fouls drawn, a particularly useful attribute when Forest are attempting to control a game while leading.
Of course, Jota’s six goal contributions across all competitions aren’t the numbers you’d want from a winger, but his defensive abilities are so uniquely brilliant that he could be given time to find his attacking form.