The 24-year-old has endured a torrid campaign in the Pro League having been frozen out early in the campaign.
Forgotten Jota has brought the curtain down on his nightmare start in Saudi - as he revealed the "secret" reason he has finally landed a chance with Al-Ittihad.
After a mega-money £25million move to the Middle East from Celtic last summer, the winger was quickly left to regret his Scottish Premiership departure by former boss Nuno Espirito Santo - who opted not to register the Portuguese star for the list of foreign players allowed in the league squad. That relegated the 24-year-old to the fringes of the squad and he was only allowed to make appearances in the Asian Champions League.
However, current gaffer Marcelo Gallardo added the attacker to the Saudi Pro League squad list in January - and after a period on the sidelines through injury Jota is finally making his mark for Ittihad. After impressing off the bench against Al-Akhoud to make his first appearance since December, he would start against Al-Fateh on Saturday and score only his second goal.
Despite being frozen out earlier in the campaign, Jota has now insisted he always believed he would be able to work his way back into the squad - despite the likes of Tottenham and West Ham holding an interest in taking him back to Europe. Speaking to club media, he said: "I work hard every day. "The secret is that I always work hard, every day, because circumstances change. Circumstances change and I know that. I am no different from others I know that, so I just have to work hard and enjoy football because this is what we all love to do."
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