Celtic hero Jota faces being DUMPED by Al-Ittihad after two months

Steve Kay

• 21 Aug 2023 13:27 BST
• 2 min read

Confirmed

Former Celtic winger Jota faces the embarrassment of being binned by Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad less than two months after joining the club, FootballTransfers can confirm.

The 24-year-old winger left Celtic for the Saudi club in early July for a club-record fee of €29.1 million but has struggled to impress in his new surroundings.

Jota has played six times for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team but was notably reduced to the role of substitute in their opening two Saudi Pro League matches of the season, featuring for a total of just 32 minutes in those encounters.

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He had previously featured in all four Arab Club Champions Cup matches, starting two of those games, but has yet to produce a goal or an assist for his new team.

Al-Itthad legend Mohamed Nour told SBA Sport: "It has been clear through recent matches that Jota is not suitable for the federation. It is better to change it now than start the season with it and failing later. I thank the federation management for its courage in making such a brave decision."

FootballTransfers has learned that talks are currently taken place with two Portuguese top-flight clubs concerning a season-long loan deal that includes an option to buy.

Jota has told his close friends that he is furious at the treatment he has endured at Al-Ittihad, with head coach Nuno Espirito Santo also said to be unhappy with the club’s management.

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Jota’s Celtic cult status not replicated

Jota enjoyed cult hero status at Celtic, where he had played for the two previous campaigns under Ange Postecoglou.

In total, he made 83 appearances for the Parkhead club, scoring 28 goals and laying on 26 more, but also enjoying the love of the supporters, who embraced him as one of their own. In particular, he enjoyed success in the Glasgow derby against fierce rivals Rangers, scoring four times in 10 outings against the Ibrox club.

The former Portugal U21 international is finding that status difficult to rediscover at a club that boasts the likes of Fabinho, N’Golo Kante and Karim Benzema, and it appears he is already destined to depart just a couple of months after landing Celtic their record transfer windfall.