Wolves' Diogo Jota confident of European progression

Jota, Joao Moutinho, Rui Patricio, Ruben Neves, Ivan Cavaleiro, Leander Dendoncker, Willy Boly, Jonny Castro Otto and Raul Jimenez have all played in either the Europa League or Champions League during their careers.

The 22-year-old forward, who ended last season in exceptional form, can't wait for Wolves' European bow and believes they can progress through three qualifying rounds to reach the group stages.

"It’s special because I came to the club in the Championship and I’ve grown up with the club, so it’s a special moment to be back in a European competition and for me because it’s my first time playing in the Europa League," Jota said.

“In the knockout stages with two legs, that’s unfamiliar, so it’s always tricky and you need some experience to deal with it. It’s a different game, when you know you’ve already got a result and you know a draw is enough, but normally if you play to draw, you lose so it’s a good thing to learn.

"We have people with a lot of experience and they know what it is. The manager has experience, so I think we’ll go through to the group stage."

Jota was part of the Portugal squad who won the inaugural Nations League last month, along with Neves, Moutinho and Patricio.

He didn't get to make his full debut, but Jota said it was still a fantastic experience.

“It was a privilege to be there with all of them," he said. "It was my first major competition, and to be at home, in my city, was a great thing for me and sharing the dressing room with the players normally I saw on the TV.

“It was special and we won the tournament so I’ll always remember it. Even though I didn’t play, the experience was really good and I need to work hard this season to be there again.

“A football player always wants the next step and of course now I want to play, but I know to play I need to be there and that’s a hard thing because fortunately Portugal have a lot of talent, many players that can get in the squad, so I need to work hard to be there.

“The last game was on the 10th, of course I had some rest to prepare myself for pre-season, so I could start training with the team because on Friday we have our first game."