Jota was open to Celtic return amid Al-Ittihad nightmare

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - MAY 07: Jota of Celtic arrives at the stadium prior to the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Heart of Midlothian and Celtic FC at Tynecastle Park on May 07, 2023 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - MAY 07: Jota of Celtic arrives at the stadium prior to the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Heart of Midlothian and Celtic FC at Tynecastle Park on May 07, 2023 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images) /
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Jota’s move to Al-Ittihad has clearly not gone as he would have envisioned. The Portuguese winger left Celtic in the summer in a £25 million move. He already seems to be on the fringes of the squad there and has been heavily linked with a move away, although nothing has materialised yet.

Many Celtic fans would have been hoping for the club to make a move to bring back Jota. They simply have not looked the same going forward without him.

But no move was made before the summer transfer window slammed shut. Now, it looks like Jota would have been open to the prospect of returning to Celtic Park.

As reported by Football Scotland, Al-Ittihad insider Hamed Al-Balawi said:

"“The player would not have hesitated to return to Celtic, but cannot choose that option. Now we have Fenerbahce.”"

Jota was open to Celtic return amid Al-Ittihad nightmare

With the summer transfer window now closed, there is no chance for Celtic to bring back Jota anytime soon. Unless he is released by Al-Ittihad and is available as a free agent. But that feels unlikely considering they shelled out a £25 million transfer fee to sign him just a few months ago.

Jota was one of the most highly-rated young players in the world while rising through the youth ranks at Benfica and at one point was even linked with Real Madrid. But he was not able to establish himself at the senior level before moving to Celtic a couple of summers ago.

Celtic proved to be the perfect fit for Jota and he established himself as a superstar in Glasgow. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he scored 28 goals and provided 26 assists in 83 appearances for the Hoops.

Jota proved to be the man for the big moments too. He scored several times against the Rangers and also found the back of the net in the Scottish Cup final last season, sealing the treble for Ange Postecoglou’s side. It turned out to be his last game in the Hoops.

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