AS someone who has a carefree attitude and relaxed way of going about his business, Jo could have been excused for looking a little bewildered when he touched down in Seattle last night.

Like the vast majority of his countrymen, the Brazilian does things in his own time, enjoying the opportunity to samba and siesta, so the intensity of a David Moyes’s pre-season training campaign must have come as a bolt from the blue.

But rather than recoil at having to work so hard, Everton’s on-loan striker has seized the opportunity to put in the hard yards and Moyes’ assistant Steve Round believes that could be the catalyst for the 21-year-old to go on a scoring spree.

Though it is still early days, there has been much to admire about the way Jo has gone about his business in the past couple of weeks and his efforts in St Andrews and on the training pitches at Finch Farm have had his team-mates nodding approvingly.

A two-goal salvo in Saturday’s facile 4-1 win over Rochdale at Spotland – with better fortune he might have had a hat-trick – impressed them further but Round is convinced there is more to come and he is looking for another step forward in the United States.

“He probably doesn’t know what has hit him in training; but we are hoping he will come through and realise his full potential,” said Round.

“It’s not there yet but a good pre-season will ensure we see the best of him this season.

“Jo is going to develop and hopefully – given the way this team trains and the way he has gone about his work – he could really come through and be a good player but it took him a long time to adapt last year.”

It was at this time 12 months ago that Jo was being unveiled as Manchester City’s record signing, having joined them in a deal that was reputed to be worth more than £20m from CSKA Moscow.

But if Moyes had a similar transfer kitty to dip into, Jo could easily have moved to Goodison Park instead; Moyes charted the 22-year-old’s progress in Russia and, after one scouting trip, was adamant that he could add class and goals to Everton’s forward line.

As it turned out, of course, his experience in Manchester was a sour one and it needed a mid-season loan switch to Merseyside to put the smile back on Jo’s face; marking his debut with two goals against Bolton Wanderers in February, he never looked back.

“A lot of centre-forwards are different characters and he is one that will thrive with a good atmosphere and the togetherness that we have here,” said Round.