Jota £8.5m stunning return agreed, but Storm Eowyn will delay Celtic confirmation and hold up Kyogo’s move to Rennes…

As reported by Stephen McGowan and Callum Crowe in MailSport, Celtic are set to conclude a deal for former fans favourite Jota over the weekend.
After departing the Hoops in the summer of 2023 for £25m to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad, the Portuguese winger spent a tumultuous year on the pitch in the middle east before making the switch to Rennes five months ago. Falling out of favour under Jorge Sampaoli in Brittany, Jota became available once again in the market this month, and Celtic have swooped in to dramatically sign the 25 year-old for the third time.
Celtic enquired about Jota last summer
Brendan Rodgers and the Hoops hierarchy attempted to make a move for Jota last summer, but the former Benfica man was reluctant to immediately head back to Glasgow.
🚨🔴⚫️ Rennes complete deal in excess of €10m for Kyogo Furuhashi from Celtic.
Jota joins Celtic for €10m plus 10% sell-on clause, back to the club ⚪️🟢 pic.twitter.com/HMoQ4nFxnS
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 23, 2025
A €10m deal both ways, or a straight swap
Meanwhile, Celtic and Rennes have completed more business together. Kyogo Furuhashi is set to sign for the Ligue 1 club for €10m with the 30 year-old pictured landing in France last night after jetting off on a private jet from Glasgow Airport yesterday morning.
Fabrizio Romano has reported that the fee for Jota to Celtic equals the fee that Celtic will receive for Kyogo from Rennes. Effectively it’s a swap with the only difference being that Rennes have secured a sell-on clause for the 25 year old Portuguese winger whereas Celtic understandably have not insisted on this for the Kyogo sale given that the Japanese striker turned 30 last week.
Weather warning
Celtic will hold fire on the Kyogo deal until Jota’s deal is agreed. Due to the extreme red weather warning in Glasgow for today, no flights are set to arrive – therefore Jota’s agreement with Celtic will be delayed until he can fly into Glasgow tomorrow when Storm Eowyn passes.

Mathias Kvistgaarden a Celtic target
The departure of Kyogo will see Celtic reignite their interest in Brondby striker Mathias Kvistgaarden. Scoring on 38 occasions in 109 appearances for the Danish outfit, the 22 year-old has attracted interest from a host of European clubs including Celtic and Eintracht Frankfurt.

Kvistgaarden has notched up 12 goals in 18 games this season and is keen on a move this window, and with Celtic now on the search for a striker, Rodgers’ may look to the £10m forward as his new focal point.
Rodgers declared at the start of the month that Celtic would not be wasting any time in the transfer market should any of his star men exit the club in January.

Any players who are signed between now and next Wednesday will not be available to make the trip to Villa Park for Celtic’s final Champions League phase outing. However, when Jota sign on the dotted line, the Portuguese man will be eligible to play in the two-legged knockout playoffs in February, as indeed will Kieran Tierney despite being involved in Arsenal’s Champions League match this week.
Celtic plan to finalise a £9m deal for Jota in the coming days as Kyogo flies out to Rennes.https://t.co/ofMkRsGqlO
— stephen.mcgowan (@mcgowan_stephen) January 23, 2025
Conor Spence
