Jota, symbol of a transfer window that does not take off

Without getting too far ahead, we can already say that the Stade Rennais season will not meet the expectations set this summer. The change in sports management with the arrival of Frederic Massara in place of Florian Maurice did not have the expected effects. As is often the case when a squad is changed by half in the off-season, the mayonnaise takes time to set. This is indeed the case with a very disappointing 12th place almost halfway through the championship (15 days out of 34), only 5 victories and already 8 defeats which cost Julien Stéphan his place. Sampaoli is doing barely better at the moment with 2 successes and 2 setbacks.

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There is no doubt that the transfer window will allow the Argentine coach to have a team a little more to his liking. A goalkeeper and a central defender are sought as a priority. The name of Arnau Tenas was even mentioned to compete with, or even get ahead of, Steve Mandanda. Other players who arrived only last summer could leave, like Glen Kamara or young striker Henrik Meister, 59 minutes played in Ligue 1 only (1 goal). He has not even appeared on a pitch since September 21, notably ahead of the hierarchy by a certain Jota. However, the Portuguese has not been convincing since his arrival at the very end of August.

Physical problems upon arrival

The 25-year-old winger arrived with the label of star of the Rennes transfer window. His good years with Benfica and especially Celtic are not that long ago, especially since he is still young. His situation at Al-Ittihad seemed untenable. The Saudi club no longer wanted him in order to free up a place for a non-EU player, just one year after spending €29 million to recruit him. Rennes jumped at the opportunity to sign him for €8 million, a rather well-executed deal at first glance. “Like you, we watch football, we say to ourselves that it is too expensive, that it has too high a salary. But on the contrary, it is cheaper because the club needs to free up places in its squad.»

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Massara will quickly become disillusioned. Already, the Portuguese is not ready to play, having been too often left on the sidelines the previous season. “He will need work, days and maybe even weeks to get back to physical fitness.» prophesied Julien Stéphan at the beginning of September. After a first appearance, Jota quickly suffered a muscular problem which stopped him for 10 days. He walked on eggshells and resumed timidly, first 10 minutes against Monaco, then half an hour against Brest where he managed to snatch a draw at the very end of the match (3-3). This is for the moment his only achievement in 9 appearances.

Sampaoli is not convinced

Established after that against Le Havre (1-0, 70 minutes), Auxerre (0-4, 73 minutes) and Toulouse (0-2, 80 minutes), he failed to do well in a role of left winger, his favorite position however. The native of Lisbon needed continuity but he missed it. Then Jorge Sampaoli arrived and took his place on the bench. In the 4 matches led by El Pelado, Jota only came on 3 times for 47 minutes. “For me, they are mainly wingers (Blas and Jota, editor's note), not interior players who can help balance the team» explained the new coach on the evening of his first match in Lille.

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Since then, Ludovic Blas has made 3 consecutive starts for 2 goals and 3 assists, while his teammate has instead received some public criticism from his coach. “We hope that Jota will give us this imbalance that we need, but until then, he is not in full possession of his means. I need players who make continuous effort, defensive or offensive» he explained last week to the press. “What I ask of them is not only to be decisive when the result goes our way…» The message is not fake. Jota will try to get back on track in the Coupe de France against Bordeaux (Sunday 2:45 p.m.) but his name is already mentioned for a possible departure in January.