Diogo Jota's sons to be mascots at Liverpool vs Wolves as Arne Slot issues poignant message

 Arne Slot has expressed his hope that the overwhelming support from Liverpool Football Club's entire community will bring solace to Diogo Jota's family during what promises to be a deeply moving afternoon at Anfield this Saturday.

The Reds face Wolverhampton Wanderers, Jota's other former Premier League side, in what marks the first encounter between the clubs since the beloved Portuguese forward tragically lost his life in a car crash alongside his brother, Andre Silva, in early July.

Jota was making his way through northern Spain, heading back to Merseyside for pre-season preparations in the early hours of Thursday, July 3, when his vehicle suffered a tyre blowout. His widow, Rute, will be present for the match, with Jota's sons, Dinis and Duarte, serving as mascots for the occasion.

Jota made the move to English football when he joined Wolves, when they were in Championship, in 2017. He immediately helped them to the title in the second tier, before being part of the most-successful Wolves team in a generation.

The 28-year-old, then moved to Liverpool in September 2020, claimed the Premier League title, FA Cup and two League Cups during his five-year spell at Anfield.

In his pre-match programme notes ahead of the clash with bottom-placed Wolves, Slot devotes part of his piece to the No. 20, reports the Liverpool Echo.

"That ability to be united has been one of our most important qualities throughout a year which has brought us some of our highest highs and our lowest lows," Slot writes. "Reflecting on everything that has happened over the last 12 months ignites a rollercoaster of emotions but it is normal at this time of year to look back to everything that has happened.

"Doing so leads me to think especially of the family of Diogo Jota on what will be their first Christmas without him. It is not my place to tell them where they should look for comfort – if that is even possible – but I can only hope that the feeling of love and affection that Diogo still generates brings them some solace.

"The sense of loss will be particularly strong on Saturday, of course, as it will be the first time that Diogo's two English teams will meet since his tragic passing.

"Like us, Wolves were clearly very affected by the loss of such a special player and person so my thoughts continue to be with them also."

Slot adds: "I would like to welcome Rob Edwards, his players and staff as well as the supporters and directors of Wolves to Anfield for the game.

"They arrive fighting for their future but regardless of their current position in the Premier League table we will expect the kind of test that we faced against them twice last season when we managed to come out on top in two very difficult games.

"This is just the way the Premier League is, which makes it so, so important to be on the right side of the small margins. Lately, we have been able to do that more often than had been the case in previous weeks so we need this to continue."

Ideally, we will also start to put ourselves in a position in which we can even give ourselves a bit more comfort but as I said earlier in these notes, there is a lot of work to do if we want to reach this stage. ".

The forward played a crucial role in helping Slot's team clinch the Premier League title last season. And in a touching tribute to Jota, Liverpool decided to retire his No. 20 shirt following his passing.