Celtic boss drops potential Jota transfer return hint

Celtic’s most high-profile exit in the summer transfer window was that of Jota. The Portuguese winger had established himself as one of the club’s most important players over his two seasons at Parkhead. He would leave in a £25 million move to join Al-Ittihad. But things have not gone as he would have hoped.

Jota has barely featured since making the move to Al-Ittihad in the summer. It is believed that he could be set to leave in January, either on loan or on a permanent basis.

Unsurprisingly, there have been rumours about a potential return to Celtic. Interestingly, Brendan Rodgers did not rule it out when questioned about the matter.

As reported by Football Scotland, when a fan asked Rodgers if he would make a move for Jota in less than two months, the Celtic boss said:

"“I’ll ask Michael Nicholson.”"

Celtic boss drops potential Jota transfer return hint

Jota has been linked with clubs like Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur lately. A return to Celtic certainly feels a bit unlikely at this point in time. But at the same time, never say never.

One has to remember that Celtic are the only club so far where Jota has succeeded at the senior level. And he is in a situation where he needs to rediscover his best.

It remains to be seen if Celtic do end up making a move for Jota in January. There are multiple outlets that have reported that the club do have an eye on their former player. Let’s see if that turns into something more concrete.

The Hoops could definitely do with someone like Jota at the moment. They have players like Daizen Maeda and Liel Abada out on the sidelines due to injuries. On the other hand, the likes of Mikey Johnston, James Forrest, Yang Hyun-jun and Marco Tilio do not seem ready to be regular starters for the club.