NewsDiogo Jota: I want to be able to help the team even more

After a break following his participation at Euro 2024 with Portugal, the No.20 is now linked up with the Reds squad preparing for the new campaign in the USA.

Jota has delivered 75 goal involvements in 145 games since arriving from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020, though was limited by injury to 19 starts last term.

Speaking to reporters in Philadelphia, he was asked if has reached his highest level yet and replied: “Hopefully not! Hopefully that means I can still do some good things. But I know what I am capable of.

“If you look at last season and see the impact I had in the games I played, it is not easy to do it overall in the season. Football is not simple maths. [But] I know what I am capable of, I just want to give myself more chances to help the team in the best way.”

He continued: “I can’t tell [where it went wrong last season]. I remember the really tough week where we had Fulham, Everton midweek and then West Ham. That was a crucial week and we lost points. The Premier League is very hard and competitive.

“Every game we play, we can lose points, especially in a week where we have three away games in six days. Being injured did not help as I could have been another option but we had to force the same options. It is not easy to find a reason why but we all failed as a team.”

On his previous fitness frustrations and the desire to put them behind him, Jota said: “It feels worse when the team isn’t doing so well and you can’t help.

“You feel double frustration when results aren’t good, as you feel that you could have been there to help and maybe things would have been different. That feeling isn’t nice at all.

“Last season especially, it was really frustrating because I had three injuries in three good moments. I worked hard to get into those good moments with my form. But each time my momentum was stopped due to injuries.

“The last one especially was bad. I feared that I was going to miss the Euros. That would have been the second time in a row in terms of major tournaments after missing the World Cup. Mentally, it was tough.

“But what gives me hope is that in the minutes when I’ve been on the pitch, I’ve always performed. If I can stay fit then I know my numbers will be good. That gives me hope for this season. I want to stay fit and that’s what I’m working on in the pre-season.”

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Jota has, of course, returned to a Liverpool side led by a new head coach in Arne Slot.

On the initial phases of working with the Dutchman, he said: “I’ve only had a few sessions but already I can tell that he’s really precise in what he wants. He goes into a lot of detail.

“At the moment we don’t have a No.9 [available], as you could see in the last game. I assume that for the foreseeable future that’s where I am going to play. But he knows and I know that I can play a part in the attack on the wing or in the centre.”