Rumours emerge in Portugal about Jota’s Celtic future

The situation of Jota is certainly one of the most interesting at Celtic. The Portuguese winger made a fantastic start to life at Parkhead and at one point of time, was arguably the best player in Scottish football. He would pick up an injury in December though and that has seemed to derail his momentum. He made his return to the pitch after the winter break and has featured regularly, but he has not managed to rediscover that incredible form.

In fact, since the turn of the year, Jota has managed to score in only one game, a brace against Aberdeen back in February. That is certainly disappointing after how consistently he had found the back of the net in the first half of the season.

His numbers are still great. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has scored 10 goals and provided 11 assists for Celtic in 35 appearances. But there is no hiding from the fact that his form has faded away significantly.

Amidst all this, rumours have been doing the rounds on social media, with several accounts dealing with Portuguese football tweeting out that Celtic are reluctant to match the buyout clause believed to be in the range of £6 million and £6.5 million, after Jota’s loss of form.

Rumours emerge in Portugal about Jota’s Celtic future

While it is always advisable to take rumours with a pinch of salt, the fact that multiple accounts have been posting the same thing recently is certainly interesting.

If Celtic were indeed reluctant to shell out that kind of a transfer fee to sign Jota on a permanent basis, it would be understandable, as he has not been particularly impressive since the turn of the year.

But then, one has to consider that he had to deal with an injury and the uncertainty over his future could have had an impact on Jota’s performances recently as well.

We have seen what Jota is capable of when on top of his game and it is splendid. Thus, if Celtic are able to win the Premiership and qualify for the Champions League main stage, they should definitely try to keep hold of Jota for the long-term.

Of course, one cannot rule out the possibility of him potentially not wanting to extend his stay at Celtic Park and instead return to his boyhood club Benfica.