Ex-Celtic ace linked with dramatic return to Parkhead ahead of Al-Ittihad exit

Former Celtic winger Jota has been linked with a dramatic return to Parkhead after making just two appearances for new club Al-Ittihad.

The Portuguese ace could be on the verge of a sensational return to Glasgow just a month after bidding an emotional farewell to Hoops fans. He joined the club on loan from Benfica at the start of the 2021/22 campaign, and he ended up scoring 10 league goals as Celtic cruised to the title.

The Hoops triggered a buyout clause last summer, snapping Jota up for just £6.5million and handing him a five-year deal.

He was in sparkling form once again for the Bhoys, powering them to another Premiership crown, and they made a hefty profit by selling him to Al-Ittihad.

They could now be on the brink of recapturing him for a knockdown price or on loan, with reports in Saudi claiming that Jota could be set to depart his club.

Rules for the Saudi Pro League state that clubs must only have eight players per squad from overseas, and that could spell the end of Jota.

Now odds compiled by Gambling.com have Celtic as favourites for a shock transfer return for the winger.

Everton and Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs are also among the favourites as potential locations for the ex-Parkhead star.

Rodgers could sign dream Nawrocki partner in Celtic swoop for “amazing” £120k-p/w player

Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers has been able to bolster his playing squad with six new additions during the summer transfer window so far.

The Hoops have brought in Hyeok-kyu Kwon, Marco Tilio, Odin Thiago Holm, Hyun-jun Yang, Maik Nawrocki, and Gustaf Lagerbielke to improve the side after the 2022/23 campaign.

That does not appear to be the end of their foray into the market before next month’s deadline, though, as they have been touted with a move for one of their former players.

It was recently reported by Football Insider that the Hoops could look to tempt Arsenal into selling former fan-favourite Kieran Tierney back to them after Newcastle United dropped out of the race for the Scotland international’s signature.

The outlet did state that they may lack the financial power to secure a deal for the left-back’s services but it remains to be seen whether or not a loan deal could be a viable alternative option.

Tierney would arrive at Celtic as a player who has the quality and experience to hit the ground running due to his first spell at Parkhead after coming through the academy set-up, which could make him a dream partner for Nawrocki.

The Poland U21 international has started on the left of the centre-back pairing in all three of the team’s competitive fixtures this season, which means that he would be playing directly next to the Arsenal gem if the club are able to snap him up.

Nawrocki is new to life in Scotland after coming over from his home country and Tierney could help him to settle in with his knowledge of the league and his ability.

The 26-year-old whiz enjoyed a fantastic time with the Hoops and proved himself to be a real attacking threat from left-back as he racked up 25 assists in 97 Scottish Premiership outings before his move to The Emirates.

This means that Tierney registered an assist every 3.88 matches on average. Whereas, current Hoops left-back Greg Taylor has assisted 21 goals in 130 games for the club, which is one every 6.19 clashes on average.

The Athletic’s Chris Hamill claimed that Nawrocki showed great tempo and acceleration in his passing out from the back for Celtic, which suggests that he will be able to get the ball out to the Scotland international quickly before the opposition defence can settle into a low block.

He has completed 71% of his attempted long passes this season so far and could, therefore, excel at being able to clip the ball over the opposition’s press to set Tierney away down the left channel.

This could provide the current Gunners defender, who teammate Oleksandr Zinchenko lauded as “amazing”, with ample opportunities to bomb forward in order to make the most of the attacking threat he can provide from left-back.

Tierney’s statistics from his first spell at Celtic suggest that the £120k-per-week warrior has the potential to offer far more than Taylor does at the top end of the pitch.

Therefore, Nawrocki and the Scottish gem could be a dream pairing as the former’s passing ability could unlock the left-back’s attacking potential and the latter’s knowledge of the club and experience of Scottish football could help the Polish titan to settle in.