Mel Eves suggests Wolves ace Diogo Jota good enough to replace Cristiano Ronaldo one day

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Wolves ace Diogo Jota is a fan favourite at Molineux but he is yet to win a senior Portugal cap.

Wolverhampton Wanderers legend Mel Eves has suggested that Diogo Jota could one day go on to replace Cristiano Ronaldo in the Portugal senior setup if he continues to progress the way he’s been doing.

The 22-year-old is yet to be capped by the Selecao, with Under-21 currently the highest level that he’s reached, but he was part of the squad which won the inaugural UEFA Nations League earlier this summer.

After returning from international duty, Jota spoke of how he looked up to Ronaldo during his childhood and was eager to learn as much from him as possible while away – also joking about how the Juventus ace said he was the best singer in the squad (The Independent).

Although Jota is yet to make his breakthrough at international level, he has certainly been sensational at club level, and has also etched his name in the Molineux history books, becoming the first Wolves player to score at European level since Eves in 1980.

“I think he can be as good as he wants to be,” Eves told Wolves Bite. “His next thing is to force his way into the Portuguese national team, and playing with Ronaldo, or even being the overall replacement for someone like him.

“He’s got big boots to fill, but I think he’s that good and he has that potential. I don’t for a second think that Ronaldo is finished, by the way, but I wouldn’t think Portugal are blessed with too many players better than Jota in that position – if they have then they must be very good.”

Jota joined Wolves in the summer of 2017, initially on loan from Atletico Madrid, but a permanent deal was agreed the following January, being made effective on 1 July for a fee reported by Transfermarkt as £12.6million.

The ex-Atleti ace registered an impressive 17 goals and eight assists in 44 Championship appearances (Transfermarkt) as the Molineux side were promoted as champions and he continued his good work into the top flight.

Jota grabbed nine goals and five assists in 33 Premier League appearances, plus one goal and two assists in the FA Cup (Transfermarkt), as Wolves finished seventh in the top-flight table and reached the semi-finals of the latter competition.