THERE are echoes of the deal that brought Filipe Jota from Benfica to Celtic in the champions’ move for South Korean striker Cho Gue-sung.
The Hoops met the Portuguese giants’ agreed price of £6.5million which had been inserted in the winger’s loan contract when he joined the Ange Postecoglou revolution in August 2021.
The newly-crowned champions met the personal terms of the fans’ favourite to make the switch permanent in the summer with a five-year agreement.
READY, STEADY CHO…Celtic are pushing to deal in South Korean World Cup striker Cho Gue-sung.
The Lisbon club, though, insisted on a whopping sell-on clause of 30 per cent in the transfer negotiations which CQNstated would be no dealbreaker in a report at the start of May last year.
The move was rubberstamped in June and Jota, who netted 13 goals from a wide area the previous term, was delighted to pick up his career in Glasgow.
The Hoops hierarchy have been in London this week as they attempt to push the move for Cho over the line.
The 24-year-old towering frontman, who caught the club’s attention with his performances for his country in the World Cup Finals in Qatar, is a wanted man with the Scotland title kings willing to pay £3million.
JOY BHOY JOTA…Portuguese flyer Filipe Jota celebrates the opening goal in the 2-0 Premiership win over Kilmarnock at the weekend.
However, his club side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors are in no rush to part with their hottest property and the Parkhead chiefs are hoping a massive 50 per cent sell-on clause will seal the deal, as reported in the Daily Record.
MLS outfit Minnesota United have made an offer of around the £5million mark, but that bid comes with a limited sell-on which comes nowhere near that made by Celtic.
Bundesliga club Mainz are still in the hunt for the 6ft-plus hitman who has stated his preference is to move to Europe.
Average sell-on clauses on a percentage of any profit of a player moving on would normally be in the 10 to 20 per cent range for a former club.
Cho is seen as a direct replacement for Giorgos Giakoumakis who has rejected new terms and will almost certainly be an ex-Celt by the time the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
BY THE LEFT…Giorgos Giakoumakis attempts to get on the scoresheet in the 2-1 win over Motherwell at Fir Park on November 9.
Wealthy J-League side Urawa Red Diamonds are willing to pay an initial £4million in a move which would reach double that figure in instalments.
Struggling Serie A Sampdoria are interested in taking the Greek striker, whose last goal came in the 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk on October 25, on loan until the end of the season as they battle relegation.
If they stave off the drop, the Italians will discuss making the switch permanent. The team have won just two of their 17 league games this term and are two points above rock-bottom Cremonese.
That proposition is likely to be a non-starter with the Parkhead club who have the 28-year-old attacker under contract until June 2026.
