Rangers have been linked with a move to sign Spanish playmaker Jota.
Reports from The Scottish Sun this weekend claimed that Rangers are hoping to land Eibar playmaker Jota – and manager Mark Warburton is certainly a huge fan of the player.
The Gers have suffered a number of blows in midfield, as Joey Barton has been released from his contract after a turbulent time at Ibrox, Niko Krancjar is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, whilst summer additions Matt Crooks and Jordan Rossiter have suffered niggling injury blows.
Rangers manager Mark Warburton
Now, manager Warburton is expected to make a move for a playmaker in January, and The Scottish Sun report that Eibar’s Jota is his top target ahead of the upcoming transfer window.
Brentford-owner midfielder Jota, 25, is currently on loan in his native Spain with Eibar, having penned an 18-month loan deal with the La Liga side during the January transfer window of this year.
Jota has played just five games for Eibar this season, and the report claims that Rangers boss Warburton has now made an enquiry to Brentford about taking over Jota’s loan deal until the end of the season.
Brentford’s Jota celebrates
Former Brentford boss Warburton signed Jota for the Bees in the summer of 2014, and with 11 goals and three assists following his move from Celta Vigo, the left-footed playmaker – who earned comparisons to Manchester City’s David Silva – was immediately rated as one of the Championship’s top players.
However, Jota ended up returning to Spain following Warburton’s move to Rangers, and it’s now claimed that they could reunite if the playmaker is available in January, even though he doesn’t appear to be an ideal fit in Warburton’s system at Rangers unless he plays on the right hand side rather than as a central midfielder.
Brentford’s Jota celebrates
In August of this year, Warburton showed just how highly he rated Jota, as he told the Sunday Post that he felt the Spaniard was a ‘tremendous’ player, and suggested that he was worth a staggering £8m at the time – and just months on, it seems that Rangers are hoping to grab him on loan in what Warburton would surely consider as a major coup.
“We took a midfielder, Jota, from Spain when I was at Brentford. What a tremendous player he is,” said Warburton. “But during the first three months, we had to play him for no more than an hour and sometimes leave him on the bench. We had to get him used to the pace and intensity of the Championship. He’s now valued at about £8 million and cost £800,000,” he added.
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