When Jota departed Celtic early on in the summer transfer window, his mega-bucks move to the Saudi Pro League at first might have seemed to him like the land of milk and honey, but it’s surely anything but since he landed in the Middle East. More of a recurring nightmare whilst he is awake, the Portuguese winger is on the periphery of the Al-Ittihad team and looks like damaged goods always.

Nuno Espirito Santo doesn’t seem to care for the wide-man’s flamboyant talents and it’s being widely reported that he is unwanted already by the club that forked out £27 million to the Scottish Premiership Champions in June for his services. It’s a shame that it’s panned out that way for the player but is a stark reminder that his playing development is far more important than cash every day of the week.

The former fans’ favourite is now facing obscurity from the beautiful game as the avenues have just about all closed on potential routes out of his new club just several weeks after he signed. It’s a sad state of affairs for a player that has so much potential to develop into a world-class talent. Now it looks as though he will have to settle for a place in the background at Al-Ittihad.

Ittihad insider, Ahmed Al-Balawi, spoke to Saudi television show, Action Ya Dawry, and claimed that the former Celt would have jumped at the chance to make a dramatic homecoming to Celtic Park just a matter of weeks after his untimely departure from Glasgow.

He said: “Dispense with a foreign player who does not participate, like Jota, and if the coach feels embarrassed to dispense with him he can choose a name other than Grohe,” (via Daily Record). “But I think if the coach was convinced of the player, he would have played him continuously.”

“The player would not have hesitated to return to Celtic, but cannot choose that option. Now we have Fenerbahce. The departure of Grohe is a form of madness. For the team, he is a safety valve. The first choice for managing the club must be to find a club for Jota. He is not at the level of ambition.”

With Jota unlikely to be involved at his new club, a compromise agreement could see him return to European football in January as a mega-wealthy young man. Celtic could well be interested in picking up the best bargain in the January sales, paying a tiny fraction of the price that Al-Ittihad paid to the club in the summer.

It could be a deal that suits everyone and one thing is for sure Jota is too good a player not to be playing football. Bring him back Brendan! Bring our Bhoy home! And a cheeky wee £2million bid should do it!

Paul Gillespie