Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

Jota's Celtic to Saudi transfer set for 'investigation'

Jota's move from Celtic to Saudi Arabia is reportedly set for investigation. 

Reports in the Middle East claim that Al-Ittihad will take an internal look into the £25m transfer.

The Portuguese winger moved from the Scottish champions to the Saudi Pro League in June.

The life-changing, mega-money move hasn't worked out for the 24-year-old though. 

He was left out of Al-Ittihad's first-team squad for the domestic campaign ahead and is now stuck with the prospect of sitting on the sidelines, playing no football until January. 

It's said that he will consider asking for a mutual termination of his contract as a result of this, and so only played 133 minutes of football for his new team since joining.

Now, Saudi media outlet Asharq Al-Awsat reports that Al-Ittihad is launching an investigation into the details of the transfer. 

It's claimed that club chiefs are effectively trying to discover why the deal has not worked out in such a rapid fashion.

It's also stated that a loan to Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq was all but agreed until a deal fell through at the final hurdle with regards to wages earlier this month.

With that move falling through on the Saudi deadline day, it seems this consigned Jota to months without first-team action.

Meanwhile, when a player is having a difficult day at the office, it can be lamented from the stands that he is ‘worse than a man doon’. Given his often erratic contributions in the final third, it is a barb that has probably been aimed at Celtic attacker Daizen Maeda on occasion.

It might even have been the case early on in the win over Livingston on Saturday, as the Japanese squandered possession too easily at times, and chances to score at others.

But by the end of a match which Celtic played the majority of a man light following Joe Hart’s first half dismissal, he was being hailed by his manager for making it appear as if his team had the full quota.

Brendan Rodgers has to share some of the credit for the outcome too. He pushed Maeda up alongside Kyogo Furuhashi – his preferred position - following Hart’s red card and he was a revelation.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.