Nuno Espírito Santo has been sacked from his role as Al Ittihad manager. The ex-Wolves and Spurs manager had been in charge of the mega-rich Jeddah side since July 2022 and oversaw a Saudi Super Cup and Saudi League Title victory but the influx of talent, such as Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Fabinho, Jota and Luis Felipe, did not coincide with results and the Portuguese gaffer has been binned.
Fabrizio Romano confirmed the news yesterday, days after the 2-0 defeat to Iraqi side Air Force Club, meaning that former Celtic star Jota faces another challenge in the Saudi Pro League – impressing a new manager.
🚨🟡⚫️ Nuno Espirito Santo has been sacked — Al Ittihad decided to fire the coach.
Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kanté and all the other stars will have another coach 🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/Skzi6jVp4J
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 7, 2023
Another former Wolves manager, Julen Lopetegui, has reportedly entered discussions with the Jeddah outfit as they look to make a swift appointment. Journalist Rudy Galetti comments that the ex-Real Madrid boss has knocked back their opening offer as the Saudi club consider a new bid.
🚨❌ Julen #Lopetegui rejected the first proposal of #AlIttihad to replace Nuno Espirito Santo on their bench, explaing that he doesn’t like leading a team once the season has started.
💰 The 🇸🇦 club doesn’t give up and is preparing a new richer bid to convince the 🇪🇦 manager. pic.twitter.com/rVZfHfahsI
— Rudy Galetti (@RudyGaletti) November 8, 2023
Jota could get some clarity on his situation in the January window. The player started the game against Air Force Club, where the Iraqi side ran out 2-0 winners, but another new manager might want the owners to bankroll a raft of new signings.
Al Ittihad likely don’t see much to lose from cutting a player that they’ve only recently spent tens of millions of pounds on. The Jeddah club will likely look to move the player on or simply agree a payout.
For Jota, though, he’s in no-man’s land. He left Celtic for a lucrative proposal but no one will be able or willing to match those wages in Europe. Celtic could be a route back to football but it seems far fetched.
In 83 appearances, Jota has scored 28 goals and assisted 26 times. The Celtic supporters adore the Portuguese star and if there was a chance at a return then we’d happily welcome this.
