Jota Prepared For Blues Boo-Boys

Aston Villa’s new midfielder Jota knows he will be booed by Birmingham fans after making the switch from St Andrews to Villa Park this summer. The 28-year-old spent two seasons with Birmingham, scoring eight Championship goals from 72 appearances before moving across the Second City to join the Villans.

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It is a path that few have trodden over the years, with Alan Curbishley the last player to move directly from Birmingham to Villa way back in 1983. The Spaniard’s £4m transfer saw Gary Gardner move in the opposite direction and Jota feels that it was good business for all concerned.

“It was all very fast for what these things tend to be. In one week everything was closed,” he told Spanish newspaper La Voz De La Asturias. “For Birmingham it is an injection of money and at the same time it takes out one of the highest salaries. The sanction he had last year for financial fair play-nine points were deducted-conditioned them a lot. We have all benefited.”

While the two clubs are not in the same division and Jota will therefore not be targeted on the pitch, he feels it is inevitable that Blues supporters will have a go at times around the city. “Maybe the Birmingham fans do not understand it,” he added. “It’s a very big rivalry. I guess there will be many who do not like it. Some boo in the street I’ll have to take it. Our work is like that and we have to live with it as best we can.”