On-loan Celtic winger Jota has admitted that he’s absolutely loving his “terrific” Celtic spell as he refused to be drawn into more questions on his future.
Jota is currently on loan from Benfica, with the Hoops having an option-to-buy clause in the player’s contract. It’s believed the figure demanded for the player sits at just over £6m [Sky Sports].
There’s been consistent talk of when Celtic will try to make the move permanent. Whether they’ll make their move next summer or try to move quicker before increased interest occurs.
But Jota refused to give anything away when speaking to the BBC after yesterday’s League Cup semi-final win over St Johnstone. Instead, he simply talked up how much he’s loving life in Glasgow this season:
“I didn’t know Hampden Park but I think it was a great atmosphere, and our fans they just showed it. I’m just looking forward to the next game and the same atmosphere for us to bring the victory.
“I think it’s been terrific. I’ve just adapted very well. All of my teammates have been very good with all of the stuff. But I want to remain humble and just do my thing, enjoy my football game after game. You just have to enjoy life and I’m doing that right now.
“[When asked on future] I just want to play and that’s what I’m doing. I think the best message to the support is what we do on the pitch. We want to play good football and I think we have been doing a lot of great football.”
Jota has a massive month ahead of him at Celtic Park
You can understand if the questions being asked about Jota’s future are starting to get to him. It’s one of those typical Scottish media traits after all. A player can enjoy 3 months of football on a loan period and then there’s constant speculation over the player’s future.
The reality of the situation is that if Jota’s agent is any decent then he’ll be doing everything he can to encourage him not to sign anything in the near future. Not when he’s still growing his stock.
It’s difficult to know why the media think that the player is going to change his tune. It’s been clear for weeks now that the Benfica-owned star isn’t interested in talking about where his long-term future lies.
Why would he? Not when he’s still contracted to another club. The last thing he should want is to upset his permanent employers. Jota’s clearly uncomfortable when questioned on it, and it’s time to let him enjoy his football.
If Celtic manage to snap him up for good this summer or earlier then brilliant. If not, it’ll almost certainly be down to Jota himself instead of anyone else.
But it’s a major decision he has to make. The least he should expect is a bit of respect from the press.
In other news, The crucial Celtic fixture snubbed by Sky that will now be postponed
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