Diogo Jota worth his weight in goals for Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp 

One of the first things that had Jurgen Klopp drawn to Diogo Jota in the summer of 2020 was his versatility. That was perhaps not the very first thing the Liverpool boss discovered, however, but his ability to perform in a number of positions helped the German sit up and take note. It was during analysis meetings of games against Wolves when Klopp was initially first struck by Jota's work rate.

It was accepted inside the confines of the Liverpool set-up that Wolves were one of the few teams that worked just as hard as they did in and out of possession and Jota was one of the trendsetters in that particular system at the Molineux.

So when the time came for the Reds' recruitment team to take a closer look before a high-quality attacker was added to the squad that had won the Premier League just a few weeks earlier, it was Jota who piqued the most interest.

On a three-man shortlist alongside Jonathan David, then of Gent, and Ismaila Sarr of Watford, Liverpool made their move for Jota in mid-September of 2020, striking a deal that could eventually rise to a fee of £45 million.

It was one that virtually went under the radar before it was confirmed by the club, which was something that owes much to Liverpool's healthy working relationship with Portuguese agency Gestifute, who represent the forward.

After tracking Jota's progress for the two previous seasons, a glowing recommendation from close contacts of assistant boss Pep Lijnders in Portuguese football, it was Jota who got the nod over David and Sarr, particularly after Liverpool baulked at the asking price from the recently-relegated Watford over their Senegal international.

"Jurgen has long admired the Portuguese player's flexibility, determination, eye for goal and work rate," one source told this reporter when Jota arrived.

Over 18 months on from his arrival, however, that flexibility has seemingly been traded in for a more precious commodity at Anfield. Jota's strike in the 2-2 draw at Manchester City on Sunday was the attacker's 21st of the campaign, the most he has ever registered in a top-flight campaign.

Jota has vindicated Liverpool's faith in him in some style

Manchester City v Liverpool - Premier League

Only Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-Min's respective tallies of 20 and 17 are better than Jota's 15 Premier League strikes and what he lacks now in real ability to affect the game outside the penalty area, the Portugal international more than makes up for with the cold, hard currency of goals. More so than that, though, is how decisive those contributions are for Klopp's cause.

Ten of his Liverpool goals this season have been openers, while his effort against City means he has now also registered four equalizers. He rarely decorates scorelines with efforts that mean little. The Portugal international is far from a 'stat padder' racking up his numbers against the lesser lights.

At times, Jota has been deployed off the left of Liverpool's front three to accommodate Roberto Firmino down the middle, while he has also occasionally been shunted out to the right too whenever the manager has flirted with a 4-2-3-1 system. One particularly toiling afternoon in a second-half at Brentford springs to mind there.

Now, though, it must surely be recognized that Jota is at his most menacing and effective when deployed straight down the middle. He may not link the play with the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane as easily as Firmino makes it look at times, but the Brazil international is nowhere near the same level of goal threat that Jota is when leading the line.

The Kop love to sing about their No.20, leading them to victory and "running down the left-wing" but now is the time to accept that Jota is no longer the versatile frontman Klopp once thought he was.

He is a pure, dyed-in-the-wool poacher supreme instead.