Brendan Rodgers might make any number of moves over his three years as Celtic manager, but there is little question that this one would win over every single fan on the earth.
It’s been difficult for the Celtic manager to convince his wingers to consistently provide goals and assists this year, but there’s no doubt that this 24-year-old fan favorite would.
According to a TeamTalk story, Celtic have’made it clear’ to Jota that he would be ‘welcomed back’ if he wanted to return to Glasgow in January. With arms wide open, I would say.
According to the source, Celtic has “thrown their hat into the ring” and the Portuguese winger would “consider” returning to the team where Celtic supporters loved him.
Three reasons why it would be shocking to see Jota return to Celtic
The first and most obvious reason is that, despite Celtic’s strong financial situation, the costs associated with such a signing would often prevent Celtic from making one.
The winger was acquired by Al-Ittihad for £25 million in the summer, and his rumored weekly salary is £200,000. Without a pay drop of at least 80%, Celtic would not be able to get close to Jota’s salary with the best of intentions.
Additionally, given Tottenham Hotspur’s interest, Al-Ittihad would have to up their demands dramatically if they were looking to recover any of the £25 million Celtic spent.
Jota’s agents are reportedly in talks to allow him to leave for free, according to a report in TeamTalk, although Al-Ittihad would be stupid to not at least demand a price if two teams were interested in their player.
Additionally, if Al-Ittihad decides to recover any of the Al-Ittihad paid £25 million for the winger in the summer, and it is said that he earns £200,000 a week. Even with the best of intentions, Celtic would not be able to approach Jota’s wages without a pay cut of at least 80%.
This gets me to my second justification. Jota would be very interested in joining a Premier League team and getting back together with Ange Postecoglou, who feels the 24-year-old is amazing.
The Portuguese would find playing against teams like Manchester City, Manchester United, and Arsenal to be very appealing. And given the difficult period Jota had in Saudi Arabia, connecting with the manager who brought out the best in him and understood him may be big for Jota.
Thirdly, Jota only recently moved away. It is quite uncommon for Celtic to sign a player who hasn’t left the team for a sizable amount of time back to the team.
In fact, in the entire time I have supported Celtic, I don’t believe I have ever saw a player return to the club so swiftly.
Whatever transpires, the fact that Celtic are open to having Jota rejoin the team will excite the supporters, and if Brendan Rodgers is successful, every Celtic fan will begrudge him for the manner in which he left the team in 2019.
