Al Ittihad announce lucrative signing of winger, Jota set to depart

Al Ittihad have announced the signing of Moussa Diaby from Aston Villa in a deal that surely spells the end for Jota’s time in Saudi Arabia. Celtic sold the Portuguese winger to Al Ittihad last summer in a deal worth £25m but it has been far from easy for the attacker.

Now, Al Ittihad signed Diaby in a deal worth £50m (€60m). Diaby has reportedly agreed a contract until 2029 on a gross salary of almost £20m per year. Laurent Blanc has taken over as manager bringing Diaby in alongside Houssem Aouar. The two will take up players in the foreign list for the Jeddah side, meaning that Jota will once again be facing the Saudi wilderness should he not move on.

Jota has made just 22 appearances in all competitions in Saudi, scoring four goals and assisting once. The form and (lack of) adulation in the Saudi Pro League is a far cry from his time at Celtic, where he produced extraordinary moments in the Hoops. During a recent meeting with Celtic fans in Lisbon, Jota said that he wasn’t sure but that he loved Celtic when asked if he was coming back.

Interestingly, Sam Matterface on Talksport said that Saudi clubs will honour contracts to players that they have already, putting Jota in a strong negotiating position should he want to move on.

During two years in Glasgow, Jota 83 appearances for Celtic as they won five trophies. In those games, he scored 28 goals and assisted on 26 occasions, which resulted in links to a number of clubs. Celtic fans are eager to see what happens to Jota and a deal would surely be something that would be celebrated, given how much the club meant to Jota.

The manager is in the market for a winger and it may be that everything falls into place. There hasn’t been much speculation from the Celtic end regarding a return for the player but there is plenty of interest from the player’s end. It could be one to keep an eye on as, given this update, Al Ittihad have clearly decided that they are moving on from Jota.