The mysterious case of Jota – where does he fit in?

Over the course of the season, it can be seen from many forum and social media posts that there is a conflicting idea on which position best suits Jota and how Birmingham City can make the very most out of the club`s record signing.

So far, we have seen Jota play in two different positions under Steve Cotterill, this of course being a right sided midfielder and central figure playing just in behind the striker. However, as of yet both seem to have worked to no avail which has therefore reduced Jota`s role to a very expensive bench warmer.

From a personal point of view, it is my belief that Jota should only be used exclusively as a winger and not a central player. Jota is simply not suited to the central attacking midfielder role because he simply lacks any sort of physical presence, a little bit like Diego Fabbrini when he was here, which subsequently affects his ability to retain and distribute the ball within the middle of the park.

Every time that I have seen him play in that particular central role, he has been unable to cope with the high concentration of players that surround him, which in turn has a severe impact on his technical abilities and the team`s creativity as a whole.

In my view, Jota certainly does possess the natural abilities that are crucial for a winger, in which he is agile, quick on his feet and very much capable of taking opposing players on.

This notion is ultimately supported in his career highlights reel for Brentford, with a consistent theme of him being able to cut in onto his left foot and produce lethal shots and crosses.

Most of the goals and assists that he produced for Brentford were due to this particular aptitude in skill, combined with team mates that completely understood the movement that Jota was capable of, which is an element that Cotterill needs to address.

With regards to current form, we of course have Jacques Maghoma and Jeremie Boga who are both playing extremely well in their respective positions.

However, when these players start to tire it is imperative that we have players such as Jota offering strong competition for these starting positions.

I think that the fluctuating positioning of Gallagher earlier in the season is perhaps symbolic of the situation that Jota faces.

Sam Gallagher didn`t start producing goals until he was finally moved back into his favoured position and consistently played there.

Granted, Gallagher did not initially perform well in that position at the start of the season, however as time went on and he got more game time under his belt in his favoured position, his style of play has changed and has now started to mimic the players around him, which has ultimately resulted in him finding the net far more often.

By playing Jota consistently on the wing, he will have the opportunity to further develop his understanding of the Blues players that surround him and also give those players an opportunity to understand Jota`s unique style of play.

Whilst Jota`s Birmingham career has certainly got off to an underwhelming start, there is no doubt in my mind that he will eventually start to force his way back into the starting XI and ultimately showcase his worth.

I can completely understand why many fans are frustrated with the Spaniard, however it is my firm believe that we should not give up on him or write him off just yet.