Aston Villa have snapped up winger Jota from Birmingham City.
Aston Villa won promotion back to the Premier League last week, and they’ve already secured their first signing of the summer.
Villa beat Derby County to secure their place in the top flight, and Dean Smith isn’t wasting time as he looks to bolster his squad at Villa Park.
With Albert Adomah gone and Anwar El Ghazi’s future unclear, wingers are needed, and Smith has chosen to reunite with Spaniard Jota in a shock move.
Villa have raided bitter rivals Birmingham City to sign Jota, given them an undisclosed fee plus midfielder Gary Gardner in a part-exchange deal.
Jota, 27, racked up three goals and 11 assists for the Blues last season, but now heads across Birmingham to Villa Park, reuniting with Smith.
The pair worked together at Brentford, and Jota excelled in the 2016-17 season, hitting 12 goals and five assists in 21 games after cutting a loan spell with Eibar short.
Jota will hope to put up similar numbers with Smith again, and the Villa boss has told the club’s official website that he’s ‘really happy’ to have secured the deal, praising the Spaniard as ‘superb and talented’, highlighting his balance and productivity.
“I worked with Jota at Brentford. He’s a superb, talented player and Birmingham signed him as their record transfer,” said Smith. “I’m really happy to have him back working with us. He’s got great ability, great balance and a great eye for both goals and assists,” he added.
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