Reliable reporter Mark Hendry has shared what he’s heard out of Celtic following rumours of a potential move to bring Jota back to Parkhead.
Is Jota returning to Celtic?
The Hoops enjoyed a productive transfer window over the summer under new manager Brendan Rodgers. The club managed to bring in 10 new players at a total cost of just under £20m and still brought in a healthy profit due to Jota’s big-money move to Saudi Arabia.
The 24-year-old moved to Al Ittihad in a deal worth £25m, however, things haven’t quite gone to plan, with Jota making just five appearances so far. Al Ittihad also brought in nine overseas players but are only able to register eight, resulting in Jota being the man left out and only able to feature in AFC Champions League and Club World Cup games.
It was even claimed that Jota requested for his contract to be terminated but saw that rejected, with Tottenham one club to be linked with a move. Celtic have also been rumoured over making a potential swoop, with pundit Frank McAvennie recently saying:
“Someone told me Jota is coming back in January.
“It would be nice to have him back because you know what you are getting with him but I do think Brendan will need to sit down with the powers that be and tell them that he needs to sign some players.”
However, Hendry shared an update for Football Scotland regarding the Hoops and Jota in the last 48 hours. The reliable reporter stated that ‘sources have confirmed’ that no movement or approach has been made to bring Jota back to Glasgow in what ‘would be a major swoop’, with the club not considering a transfer.
Who did Celtic sign this summer?
It doesn’t look as if Jota will return to Scotland, however, as mentioned, Celtic have a number of new players thanks to the Portuguese attacker’s sale.
Maik Nawrocki, Luis Palma, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Odin Thiago Holm, Hyun-jun Yang, Marco Tilio, Hyeok-kyu Kwon and Tomoki Iwata all penned permanent Parkhead deals, whereas Nat Phillips and Paulo Bernardo joined on loan from Liverpool and Benfica respectively.
Palma, Yang and Tilio are naturally wingers, so Celtic aren’t exactly short of options despite the loss of Jota, with Daizen Maeda, James Forrest, Mikey Johnston and the injured Liel Abada also on the books.
Bringing back a player of Jota’s quality could have been nice for Rodgers, especially if it was for a cut-price fee, however, the Northern Irishman will have to work with what he has until the New Year, recently hinting that he wanted one or two more additions over the summer.
"We work with the players who are here. I’m not saying that in any disrespectful way. I think every manager will tell you they maybe wish they could have done one or two more signings but the window closed, we had the players we had and we will work with the best players at our disposal to make our performance level as best as it can be."
