Celtic favourite 'would love' return to the Hoops this summer after big-money transfer

Jota ‘would love’ a return to Celtic this summer, according to Saudi news outlet TV 24.

The Hoops sold the winger to Al-Ittihad 12 months ago for a fee of around £25million but his time in the Saudi Pro League hasn’t gone to plan.

Jota, who is 25-years-old, has struggled to adapt to football in the Middle East and is being linked with an exit from his current club already, despite penning a long-term deal.

He made 29 appearances for Al-Ittihad in all competitions last season and chipped in with five goals.

However, they didn’t win a trophy. He has recently said: “We apologise to the fans for leaving the King’s Cup and the rest of the tournaments. We have to improve ourselves. We will work to correct the results in the upcoming matches. Al-Ittihad is a big club and will return to winning trophies. It is difficult to express what happened in today's match."

Celtic signed Jota back in 2021 on an initial loan deal before his move to Glasgow was later made a permanent one.

He was a real hit during his time at Celtic Park and fired 28 goals in 83 matches altogether, helping them win the Scottish Premiership twice as well as the Scottish Cup and League Cup.

Ange Postecoglou was his manager during his time in Scotland before his exit to Tottenham Hotspur.

The Australian boss was able to get the best out of Jota and said: “Jota in his career before he got to us (Celtic) wasn’t going on the trajectory he wanted and he was the one who made the decision to come here and work hard at his game and improve, and he is. 

“He’s constantly improving, like all the group, and that needs to keep happening because there’s more in them, there’s more in him and I’m sure he’s working his way towards that.”

Jota started his career at Benfica and rose up through the academy ranks there. He was a regular for them at various different youth levels before breaking into their B team.

The ex-Portugal youth international then went on to play 33 times for their first-team, as well as having a loan spell away at Real Vallodolid in Spain to get some experience.

Celtic then came calling and he became a key player before Benfica let him leave for good.

Bringing Jota back would be a great move by the Hoops if they were able to get it done. His wages are likely to be very high though and it is yet to be known whether they would actually be interested in sorting something.

He played under Postecoglou and has never worked with Brendan Rodgers in the past.

Celtic are being patient with their recruit this summer and are yet to sign anyone. They are waiting for the right characters to become available and aren’t rushing into any expensive or unneccesary deals.

They won the title again last term ahead of Rangers and will be keen to retain their crown next year.