Tom Cairney has drawn comparisons between Luis Suarez and one current Liverpool player who he believes is vastly underrated.
The Fulham midfielder was speaking on the Footballer’s Football Podcast when he waxed lyrical about Diogo Jota, who’d been in a superb run of form for the Reds before the devastating knee injury he suffered in the win at Brentford last weekend, which could rule him out for a few months (Sky Sports).
The 33-year-old said of the Portuguese winger: “I think one of the most underrated players in the Premier League they’ve just lost and that’s Jota. I think he’s fantastic – the most underrated player.
“When you play against him, he’s capable of anything. He has that Suarez thing about him where he can bounce it off your shin five times and go in one on one.”
For an experienced professional like Cairney to speak so highly of Jota, having faced him on several occasions throughout his career, illustrates what a phenomenal talent Liverpool have in the Portugal winger.
To earn comparisons with Suarez, who in his Anfield prime was one of the best players in world football, is also a huge feather in the 27-year-old’s cap; and while our current number 20 mightn’t be quite as bombastic as the Uruguayan, he shares that knack of being able to conjure match-winning moments out of nothing.
Having scored five goals in his last seven league matches prior to the knee injury (Transfermarkt), Jota’s latest body blow came at a horrendous time not just for him but the Reds as a whole, particularly when we already had numerous players sidelined facing into a hectic run of fixtures before the March international break.
He may often tend to be overlooked when pundits are picking out the best forwards in the English top flight, but anyone connected with Liverpool will have no hesitation in recognising the enormous contribution that he’s brought at Anfield.
Let’s hope and pray that he’ll recover from his injury blow quickly enough to feature again before Jurgen Klopp departs at the end of the season.
#Ep102 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️