I was standing behind the goal the other day watching David Raya take part in a series of strenuous warm-up exercises with goalkeeping coach Manu Sotelo.

Nothing too strange about that except that much of the session was conducted in Spanish.

That made me think about just how much influence Spanish footballers have had on our Club in recent years given the performances of Raya, Sergi Canós and of course, the immortal José Ignacio Peleteiro Ramallo – better known to his adoring fans as Jota.

Jota arrived at newly promoted Brentford in August 2014 as a complete unknown and we all shrugged our shoulders before some rapid Wikipedia research highlighted his previous pedigree; his 11 goals had just inspired the previously unfancied Eibar to promotion to LaLiga for the first time in their history.

Brentford swooped for his signature and for a bargain €1.5m fee obtained a mesmerisingly talented inverted right winger and match winner who with the ball seemingly tied to his left foot led defenders a merry dance. They might have known that Jota would invariably cut inside them but knowing something and being able to do something about it are two entirely different things.

After an understandably slow start as he accustomed himself to the pace and intensity of the Championship and the agricultural attention of defenders unable to stop him by any fair means, Jota burst into life in November, scoring four times, including the glorious 91st-minute winner against rivals Fulham, cutting in from the right wing before picking his spot from the edge of the area that won him the title “Jota in the last minute” and the adoration of every Brentford fan.

If that was not enough, his incredible rasping long-range curling shot into the roof of the Cardiff City net earned the grudging applause of even the vociferous home supporters.

He spearheaded Brentford’s run to the Play-Offs and his 11 goals and twinkling feet earned him a place in FourFourTwo magazine’s top 40 EFL Players of the Season.

As good as the 2014/15 season was for Jota, the following season was a total flop as he damaged ankle ligaments on the opening day against Ipswich and after surgery missed four months of action before a surprise loan move back to Eibar given some personal issues.

Jota was like a blazing meteor. We thought we had seen the last of him but we never gave up hope and finally he returned to his spiritual home in January 2017 and received an uproarious and emotional welcome when coming on as a substitute in an FA Cup match against Eastleigh.

It was as if he had never been gone as he returned seemingly even better than ever and finished off the season as Brentford’s third leading scorer. Nobody who witnessed it will ever forget his match-winning two-goal performance against Queens Park Rangers when he left ex-Bee Jake Bidwell on his backside with his sorcery and trickery.

It came as a surprise when Jota left Griffin Park for Birmingham City for a reputed club-record fee in excess of £6m, but the old magic had gone. Perhaps he fed off the crowd as we fed off him - he was a genius who put a smile on the face of every Brentford supporter.