Major Jota future twist amid Celtic return rumours

Some transfer stories about possible player moves are expected to keep running with regular twists and turns. A possible return for Jota to Celtic is no exception to that. But if Brendan Rodgers did indeed want to bring the Portuguese winger back to Glasgow, he may have to be patient a while longer.

It’s been a long-running story from quite early on after Jota signed with Al-Ittihad last summer. He has looked more likely to leave the club than get a game over there since last year. That’s prompted a regular flow of speculation about a possible return to Glasgow.

Constantly changing managers hasn’t helped Jota’s situation, until now that is. The latest head coach to be appointed by Al-Ittihad is Laurent Blanc.

That managerial change seems to have offered Jota a lifeline at Al-Ittihad. It may be limited, it may not be for long, but it opens the door to him remaining there as a player.

Major Jota future twist amid Celtic return rumours

According to the Daily Record, Blanc has ordered that Jota and defender Luiz Felipe, who had also been earmarked for an exit, be removed from the transfer list. He wants the chance to assess them himself.

That is a fairly standard approach. All managers want to have a look at players themselves before making a decision on their futures.

That sounds like bad news for Celtic fans, who would have been delighted to see Jota back in the Hoops. There may yet be a positive spin to this story though.

Blanc will want to see what Jota has to offer, but one would think that he won’t want to miss the opportunity to move the player on in this current transfer window if he hasn't got a place for him in his side. Let's see how things play out.