Born on August 2, 1998 in the Brazilian city of São Paulo, Leo Jaba stands at 1.78 meters tall, capable of competing up front or in his preferred position on the left wing. Technically gifted, Jaba is at his best when taking on opponents in 1-on-1 situations, beating his markers with fantastic shows of skill. Jabá joined Corinthians when he was 11 years old, after a brief stint at rival São Paulo. Immediately from a young age, Jaba stood out with his qualities, impressing with the São Paulo and Corinthians youth-set up. The young forward makes life difficult for opposing players when in possession of the ball, able to turn on the gas, display silky moves and compete with a mature calmness. When Brazil played against Singapore at an under 15's tournament, Singaporean coach Nazir Nasir was taken aback by Jaba's performance, revealing that he has everything required to be a great footballer. He was part of the 2016 Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior and 2016 U20 Campeonato Brasileiro squads that ended up as runner up in both tournaments.
Corinthians
Jabá made his unofficial professional debut in a friendly on 22 July 2015, as he entered in the second half of Corinthians' 1–0 victory against ABC at Natal. He made his official debut as a substitute during the second half of a 1–0 against Internacional on November 21.
Having attracted plenty of interest from Europe, Jaba opted to join Akhmat Grozny of the Russian Premier League in summer 2017, costing the Chechnya club a grand total of €2.5 million. While not setting the world on fire, he did make an impression in Russia, netting three goals in 24 championship matches. In comparison to his time at Corinthians, his role changed slightly with Akhmat, gifted a license to roam and create goalscoring opportunities without worrying about defensive duties.
PAOK
On 20 June 2018, PAOK signed Jabá from Akhmat Grozny on a five-year deal. PAOK strengthened their attacking line, paying €5 million for the forward. On 15 September 2018, he scored his first goal of the 2018-19 Super League season as his teammate Diego Biseswar dummied for him to hit an unstoppable shot past Giorgos Strezos in a 3-1 away win against OFI. On 4 October 2018, the 20-year-old was the star of the show for PAOK, teeing up Aleksandar Prijović for his sixth-minute opening goal and then scoring twice after 11 and 17 minutes to put PAOK firmly in command, before assisted to Dimitris Pelkas in a 4-1 away emphatic win against BATE Borisov in Belarus in the UEFA Europa Leaguegroup stage. His performance earned him an award as most valuable football player of the second matchday of the Europa LeagueGroup stage, chosen ahead of Alfredo Morelos, Patrick Cutrone and Islam Slimani. On 3 March 2019, he scored a crucial goal, despite his red card in the second half, sealing a 2-0 away win against rivals Panathinaikos in his club's effort to win the title undefeated. On 8 March 2019, he was reported to have attracted attention from teams such as Porto, Newcastle United and Anderlecht. He finished the season with 39 appearances in all competitions. On November 2019, has fallen out of favour with head coachAbel Ferreira after a poor run of form in the beginning of 2019-20 season.He has struggled this time around, not contributing with any goals or assists in nine matches, and reports have indicated that the out-of-favour Brazilian could seek a transfer request in January.
