Portuguese winger Jota will undergo a Monday medical before signing for Celtic a year-long loan deal, The Scottish Daily Mail has reported. [30/08 print edition, Verdict supplement, page 4]
As we discussed yesterday, a deal was already reported to be close, with a hefty buy clause inserted into the loan move should he become a hit in Glasgow.
Now, with a medical booked, an announcement could be imminent on his arrival.
It comes after reports over the weekend of another Celtic medical involving Georgios Giakoumakis. He’s said to be signing on the dotted line at the Bhoys on Tuesday.
Manager Ange Postecoglou clearly sees strengthening the attack in the closing stages of the transfer window as a real priority.
He noted yesterday in his post-match interviews that the injury absence of James Forrest was a principal reason he could play Kyogo Furuhashi in his preferred position.
However, fans will likely be expecting more defensive reinforcements too.
Liam Scales arrived over the weekend, but there still appears to be a lack of depth at the centre-half and left-back positions especially.
Realistically, there may not be action on that front with Chris Jullien due to return from injury in the autumn and Boli Bolingoli still on the books. We know how Celtic work, they don’t tend to stack up the wage bill if there are players already in the position, regardless of their current status.
Still, there are expectations that Celtic are in as strong a position as possible coming out of the transfer window.
With a midfielder even being spoken about as need by Celtic supporters, the club need to pull a few more signings out of the bag. Jota and Giakoumakis would be a good start.
In other news, James Forrest and Greg Taylor update after Sunday Celtic absences.
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