BENFICA’S JOTA DEMAND WILL NOT BE DEAL-BREAKER

CELTIC will have to pay Benfica a whopping THIRTY per cent of any future transfer fee for Filipe Jota.

However, that stipulation will NOT be a deal-breaker as the Hoops hierarchy negotiate with the Lisbon giants in their attempt to seal a permanent £6.5million move for the Portuguese winger.

Jota has been an outstanding success since arriving in Glasgow on a season-long loan in August and scored his twelfth goal of the campaign in the 1-1 derby draw at Parkhead at the weekend.

It was to be expected his club would insert such a clause which is now part of most transfer contracts.

EURO STAR…Filipe Jota celebrates his superb effort against Bayer Leverkusen in Germany during the Europa League Group encounter.

Former chief executive Peter Lawwell insisted on these sell-on inserts into terms and netted the club a fortune when the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Victor Wanyama moved on from Southampton to Liverpool and Spurs respectively.

There is also a sell-on clause in Kieran Tierney’s £25million switch to Arsenal in the summer of 2019 if the left-back is enticed elsewhere. He has already been linked with a multi-million pound move to Champions League Finalists Real Madrid who will meet Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield side – including Van Dijk – in the glamour grand finale in Paris three weeks on Saturday.

And the Parkhead club will pick up an extra £1.5million from Ryan Christie’s summer move after Bournemouth sealed promotion to the Premier League, as CQN reported yesterday.

CAPITAL PERFORMANCE…Filipe Jota congratulates Reo Hatate after the midfielder had opened the scoring in Celtic’s 2-1 win over Hearts at Tynecstle in January.

So, a four or five-year switch for Jota is likely to be given the green light before his temporary contract expires at the end of the month with his parent club’s financial demands taken into consideration, according to Portuguese media outlet A Bola.

The 23-year-old has been electrifying since his arrival and has played his part in propelling the Hoops to pole position in the Premiership as they focus on winning their tenth title in 11 years.

Ange Postecoglou’s men can stretch their advantage to nine points if they overcome Hearts at Parkhead on Saturday with only two games – against Dundee United at Tannadice and Motherwell in Glasgow – still to be played before the curtain comes down on an extraordinary campaign.

With Jota’s deal just about over the line, the Greek-Australian gaffer can turn his attention to sealing Cameron Carter-Vickers’ move from Spurs.