18 months, 19 substitute appearances and 20 starts after leaving Celtic, Jota is back! He first joined Celtic as a 22-year-old in 2021, part of a revolutionary intake that summer, which saw Ange Postecoglou, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Kyogo, who passed Jota in the revolving door yesterday and became an instant success.
A five-and-a-half year contract for a player who turns 26 in March means the player should spend his best years at Celtic.
The €10m fee paid is approximately £17m less than the club received for him when he departed for Al Ittihad in Saudi, although that’s not all profit. Benfica received a significant slice of that fee, and we paid £6m for him initially. So we have paid approx. £14m (£6m and €10m/£8m), received £25m and Benfica earned just north of £6m kickback when he left Glasgow in 2023.
Benfica are £12m up for nurturing Jota, Celtic are up around £5m, despite having to sign him twice. The whole episode is full of lessons.
The first is for wingers. Why did such a talent fail to make the cut in Saudi and France? This goes back to a lesson we first learned with Patrick Roberts, also a prodigious winger. Players like Jota, Patrick and (I suggest) Nicolas Kuhn thrive in dominant teams. They have the craft to open up tight defences. This contrasts with the more athletic type of winger, commonly found in sides who dominate their leagues less than Celtic.
Look at the physicality of the wingers we face on Wednesday, or any winger outside the elite teams in England. They are generally taller and always strong. More like Daizen Maeda and James Forrest than Nicolas or Jota. Daizen would be first name on the team sheet for a side struggling in the French league. They need someone with the engine to get up and down the field all game. By contrast, a winger who can unlock a packed defence is superfluous to requirements.
There are also lessons for our player development strategy. I used to flinch when I read one of our teenage talents heading to Bayern Munich or Liverpool, less so Watford. Players who make it through the youth ranks at Celtic are already elite in some respects. A few are offered contracts for the first team and so many knock it back to try their chances elsewhere.
If it’s Jurgen Klopp or a Bayern Munich coach, can you blame them? Yes, of course, you can, but we need to learn to not worry about it. There is nothing we can do if the likes of Klopp gets in the room with a young Celtic player.
What if they are offered three times what Celtic assess is the going rate for their talents at Watford? We need to learn not to sweat this. The major work in player development is seldom their innate talent, it is more commonly their developmental path.
There is absolutely a lesson for Celtic from watching what Benfica do. A club who can afford to discard a talent like Jota, who was well down the Class of 2018 list, have different options from us.
Finally, we need to examine how we (and specifically who) identified Jota. That process also delivered Nicolas Kuhn and must be nurtured. I have my worries on that front.
Going forward, the job of Celtic centre forward is about to be come the easiest in the game. With defenders doubling up on Kuhn and Jota, there will be so much space through the middle, we might be able to bring back Albian Ajeti and still score goals!
Welcome home, Jota!
209 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- »
quadrophenian
Greg has an offer on the table, he has the option to sign or not – so he’s in the pound seats
And I’m sure his agent will be advising him
A hard task for the team with no Daizan . CCV . Or Kyogo . Trusty and scales did hold the fort v Atalanta .a similar performance will be required . How will our soft midfield perform , Will they manage to last both half’s , falling out of games has been a worry recently . Still maybe coming home without an embarrassing score will do us .
There is absolutely a lesson for Celtic from watching what Benfica do. A club who can afford to discard a talent like Jota, who was well down the Class of 2018 list, have different options from us.
Finally, we need to examine how we (and specifically who) identified Jota. That process also delivered Nicolas Kuhn and must be nurtured. I have my worries on that front.
—–
The above quote from Paul’s leader … which I enjoyed BTW
On the first para, I have no proof of course but I don’t think it is beyond the realms of possibility that some posters on BQN are lamenting tye one that got away.
Second para. Genuine ask Pablo – why are you worried?
There’s a bit of a recurring theme to your recent talent spotting articles.
A hint? Kuhn, Kuhn and Kuhn.
With no intel whatsoever I suspect there are three key factors contributing to his performance levels at Celtic …
1. His natural ability
2. Good work hygiene scouting and analytics team
3. Good coaching by that guy?
FWIW – I don’t fully trust that guy, OPTA.
He’s never played a game of football in his life.
Why should we care what he thinks is an easy group?
I hope the Champions League group we get next season is just as easy.
Gene on 28th January 2025 10:15 pm
I knew we’d made a contract offer to Greg.
I suppose he’s in the box seat; should anything derail KTs arrival we could be left with only kids for LBs (and I’m sure Greg’s agent is pressing that point home atm).
As others said, Matthew Anderson seems to be maturing at Admira Wacker, so ideally that’s KTs understudy.
Bolingoli
Laxalt
Montgomery
Bernabei
Valle
GregTaylor CSC 👍
GT isn’t going anywhere now.
Bournesouprecipe / An T
I really do hope that all those who are full with adoration for our manager are justified and happy in the medium term. I really really do.
Personally I believe that after inheriting a treble winning squad and adding significantly and then receiving the easiest draw possible (OPTA stats) then we really should have been seeking a seeded place at least. Content with 17-24 doesn’t seem too ambitious and certainly not warranting those seeking to deify the manager.
Last 16 for me would be par given the scenario we had. Even more so as the difference in prize money is £9m between play off and last 16. Worth having a go at beating Zagreb for I reckon.
Everyone is aware that the 2 managers who did achieve last 16 in past in CL were certainly not fawned over by our support either. I am unsure quite why Brendan is but he manages his image well for sure.
As for the medium term then let’s wait to see how that unfolds but suffice to say I will gladly cycle to Leicester and back and make a decent donation to the Celtic Foundation and Scaniels Sanctuary if we win league 5 and 6 in a row, or get to the last 16 in either next or the following season. Obviously 6 will be for his successor as he is only contracted until 26 but his successor will pick up the pieces and have a tough job to deliver 6 in a row.
Having witnessed (up close) the impact of the ego of Advocaat and Murray in destroying the finances of a football club and leading them to a corrupt destruction I am aware of the potential of an individual to erode a dominant position. It concerns me re our situation where one man appears to be calling the shots unchecked. Just as wee Dick did. Our surplus can very quickly disappear if the wage structure is changed and the trading model discarded. Especially is for any reason we do not achieve CL through qualifiers next season. As a few have said it is our mk ey they are spending.
For me a sustainable football structure should be first and the individuals positioned within that should recognise the transient nature of the game in 2025. This is my concern that our largest shareholder and the board are allowing this.
As for the fans An T, I honestly think they were great last week and apart from the early leavers and those who go for their free pies I think the support is really good right now. Huge credit also for magnifying some global issues that the MSM forgets too.
It also does seem there is a lot less moaning and whinging these days and more patience which made Brendan’s complaint even more odd the other week…. although I understand the whole Greg Taylor outburst was driven by another agenda.
I kinda wish there were more Celtic songs but it’s not for me to say as I rarely join in these days so can’t really complain about that.
I really do hope we are all happy with a great backs to the wall performance tomorrow night and a good draw away to Brest or Feyenoord or Sporting in the play off. I hope I am cheering our manager and the team as we get that £9m extra and much more importantly another fantastic last 16 place or even beyond.
Coneybhoy on 28th January 2025 8:03 pm
Bertie Auld signed for Celtic a few times. He was brilliant every time.
Weeron
THE RETURNOF WEERON on 29TH JANUARY 2025 12:24 AM
Coneybhoy on 28th January 2025 8:03 pm
Bertie Auld signed for Celtic a few times. He was brilliant every time.
*as he told us at the first Vegas Ronnie, 3 times as back then there was no loan as we know it now so he had to terminate his contract with us before signing for Dumbarton and then resigning when his term with he sons was over, and of course when he was brought back from Birmingham he signed again
Callum quick interview at Villa Park
https://youtu.be/veSxqdf4nXM?si=qS1YT7kE5eND8s5W
HH
Dearie me.
That is a poor read back.
I hope Brendan gets his team to last 16.
Shut down all the chief inspector torn faces.
Saint Stivs on 29th January 2025 1:40 am
Dearie me.
That is a poor read back.
I hope Brendan gets his team to last 16.
Shut down all the chief inspector torn faces.
…………
And this was the racist vermin “trolls” night aff as well.
Can’t believe what I’m reading on here,people seem to be complaining about Celtic for once actually spending some money in the transfer market,even though in each window they seem to make a profit.We also have around £70M in the bank.What are B78 and Paul 67 upto here,I just don’t get it.
Good Morning Fholks – Very Interesting Game Of Football Today…
We are, the plucky underdogs up against a very good team…
Yet, this is thecday that we win away
COYBIG
SAINT STIVS @ 9:17 PM,
As stated, I’ve got no motivation to diss Lenny, I had a Lenny T shirt that I bought in the Celtic shop in Coatbridge many moons ago and used to wear it with pride.
There are those who would love Celtic supporters at each others throat over this.
These fholk are lost souls…
They seen an era of Domination under Peter Lawwell and the cult of personality says Peter could do no wrong.
His ways and means must be stuck to no matter the evidence of success and failure, no matter that football is moving on at a staggering rate.
Dermot Desmond obviously took control when he heard Ange was leaving, despite some Board members wanting to keep with the commandments of Peter .
DD decided to try to get Brendan back and for him to lead a project to take Celtic to another level as a Club.
This did not go down well with that faction.
If DD and BR&CO with the support of the Executive make a success of this project and it looks like they are going to, it raises questions.
After four game changing seasons of Martin O’Neil the Board brought Peter Lawwell in as a senior Executive to implement retrenchment at the Club.
The PLC also was wedded to the “old firm”, business model – for some it was, and is, the only show in town.
The years of retrencment were over a long time ago, yet the policies that drove it remained in place.
The “old firm” model was a busted flush a long time ago, Celtic have no place within that, yet some seem phycologically wedded to it.
You understand business, you understand businesses must evolve with the times, that is what Dermot Desmond and the Executive are doing.
There is no coherent argument against that, so those who rail against it; will mock, try to stir up divides, try to blur the facts.
As I’ve stated before, we could be looking at a historic season, we could be looking at the best team for a generation.
All in All a nightmare for that faction, and the reality that we are not going back to what they consider to be the good old days.
Yet you are right, I’ll do my best not to get pulled into any slight on our previous managers
Hail Hail
THE HAND OF GOD @ 7:02 AM,
The worrying thing for me is they are connected to some Board members and their circle is “well heeled” Celtic supporters.
If this odd mind set is prevalent among this group then it makes what the current Executive are trying to achieve so much more difficult.
Hail Hail
BURNLEY78 @ 11:55 PM,
It seems you are trying to avoid the very reasonable questions fholk are asking you and circumventing these questions with a false narrative.
In the past, you have been banging on about a wonderful Celtic era, in fact according to you, the best ever, under Peter Lawwell’s Chief Executive Leadership – a Generation of Domination.
Well during PL’s seventeen year tenure as CEO – we failed to get into the group stages of the UCL nine times, we manged to get to the next phase of the UCL only three times.
So over 50% of the time we failed to qualify for the group stage of the competition and less than 20% of the time did we get to the next phase.
Remember according to you this was our best ever era.
Yet now we are to believe that getting to the knock-out phase of the UCL is the new normal, anything less is failure.
Not only that but in the UCL we should expect to get past the first knock out stage by either one of two things.
– Getting a top eight finish in the UC league or
– Beating our knock out stage opponents, assisted by a top sixteen seed.
That is of course the expectations of the top twenty Clubs in Europe.
Yet when Peter Lawwell became CEO during MO’N’s tenure, Celtic were a top thirty European side, we quickly desended down the rankings and never again became a top thirty side during Peter’s time as CEO.
We are told his methods and strategies are sacrosanct and the only way we will be a successful Club is by following them rigidly.
We are told we now have frivolously left those “winning” strategies behind.
Yet, and here’s the rub, rather than the doom and gloom of failure we’d expect you to be predicting if you really believed that, you are telling us these new frivolous strategies, should enable us to perform as a top sixteen European Club.
POV: The only reason you have hugely raised the bar for BR&CO, is that you can see sound investment, careful planning, smart use of Club resources – driven by skilled professionals will bring far more success to the Club, across the board.
Under Micheal Nicholson and his sucessors, Celtic will show Peter Lawwell’s 8/17 group stage qualifications and 3/17 next phase appearances not as a golden era, but as an ill advised holding position, that was long overdue an overhaul.
Micheal Nicholson is running at 3/3 for group stage qualification and 1/3 for the next phase qualification.
That is 100% UCL group stage qualification and 33% knock out stage qualification – none too shabby Micheal.
Hail Hail
Big ask tonight with no Kyogo,Maeda and most importantly CCV , beating Young Boys to secure qualification dor the play offs was huge.Hopefully we will rise to the occasion tonight and put in a decent performance. This was meant to be an ” easy” game against a pot 4 team.
Good luck to the bhoys tonight, think we’ll need it.
B78- one guy calling the shots isn’t healthy? Who said comedy was dead……
Good luck tonight, because our available formation looks a bit “light”.
Good morning all from Govanhill.
Tough night in store. We’re down 3 starters from last week in Kyogo, Maeda and CCV. Our bench will now be weaker with Scales and Idah likely to start and Valle away. There’ll be little options to freshen things up on the hour mark.
Couple all this with the fact that Villa need a win and they’re at home.
AN DÚN @ 8:49 AM,
Yes, I watched Unai Emery’s presser yesterday.
He is aiming for and fully expecting Villa to be in the top eight.
This is no dead rubber…
Hail Hail
With a game to go only Liverpool & Arsenal have taken more home points than Celtic …
Point in Belgrade was crucial
Get to knockout, win at home and don’t lose away, 100% behind Brendan & the Bhoys
Trophies & Euro progression
Brendan delivering what he promised when he came back, life is too short enjoy tonight, we might even win away :-)
We will do well to avoid a hammering tonight .
Let’s park the bus and play on the counter .
TT
GFTB @ 9:07 AM,
“With a game to go only Liverpool & Arsenal have taken more home points than Celtic …”
That’s a very interesting stat… I’m not sure who could overtake us, but here are the games…
Wednesday 29th @ 20:00 CPT
Aston Villa v Celtic
UEFA Champions League League Phase
Barcelona v Atalanta
UEFA Champions League League Phase
Bayer Leverkusen v Sparta Prague
UEFA Champions League League Phase
Bayern Munich v Slovan Bratislava
UEFA Champions League League Phase
Borussia Dortmund v Shakhtar Donetsk
UEFA Champions League League Phase
Brest v Real Madrid
UEFA Champions League League Phase
Dinamo Zagreb v AC Milan
UEFA Champions League League Phase
Girona v Arsenal
UEFA Champions League League Phase
Inter Milan v Monaco
UEFA Champions League League Phase
Juventus v Benfica
UEFA Champions League League Phase
Lille v Feyenoord
UEFA Champions League League Phase
Manchester City v Club Brugge
UEFA Champions League League Phase
PSV Eindhoven v Liverpool
UEFA Champions League League Phase
RB Salzburg v Atlético Madrid
UEFA Champions League League Phase
Sporting CP v Bologna
UEFA Champions League League Phase
Sturm Graz v RB Leipzig
UEFA Champions League League Phase
VfB Stuttgart v PSG
UEFA Champions League League Phase
Young Boys v Crvena zvezda
UEFA Champions League League Phase
Hail Hail
“Alex Valle has €6m release clause into his contract at Barcelona from next summer, valid for all clubs. Como’s loan move will be until June then they can agree terms with player’s side but it’s not specific option to buy clause. Cesc Fabregas, key to make it happen.” Fabrizio Romano
I think he would be a bargain for us.
Morning all,
I said when the draw was made it felt a lot better than potential draws (PSG draw looked horrific to me, much to my amusement as I dislike them) and stand by that but all this chat about “easiest possible draw” as per OPTA doesn’t sit right with me, especially if used to diminish our achievements.
The thing that gets me is that I believe that this is based on a 5 year co-efficient in the main and teams can change year to year so its not the best measure for me. Also, it appears to be based on each teams ranking in isolation.
Would it still be the easiest if we looked at this relatively by comparing the differences between the teams as “easy” is a relative term. Liverpool vs Brugge might be easier for them but harder for us due to the relative rankings of the team.
I would fancy Villa, a Pot 4 team, to beat all of the teams in Pot 3 for example so whilst Opta might suggest we got lucky with Villa away I am not sure I’d agree regardless of their rating, relative to us or not.
In other news, was it just me that, when watching Brendan’s presser, was a little concerned by the wording when asked about interest in the Norwegian winger? “I know nothing about that” rather than “We are not in for the player” – perhaps its the semantic nit picker in me but he is usually careful with his words – is this a hint that our recruitment is not fully aligned? Given the costs mooted I’d like to think the manager would need to have a say in the decision or at least be aware of anything going on. Hopefully it’s just transfer gossip / games – selling club using our name or us trying to show other clubs we might move on if other (real) bids are not accepted soon but sounded a little off to me.
I like to be optimistic, but tonight is a big ask.
Any suggestions for a pub in Puerto Rico Gran Canaria for the game?
Anyone know why Barca have sent Valle on loan to an Italian club lying 13th?
Was it lack of game time or the quality of our league, I thought he was heading back to his home club.
PPB
I think the Como manager. Cesc Fabregas, may has something to do with it.
Good point 👉
Has anyone ever met Burnley 78 ? …has he ever been to the Shipbank ? …maybe if he is so inclined he could always attend on the 31st ? 🤔🤔
Dicey Rielly , Europa shopping centre upstairs , have a good one
My biggest worry for tonight isn’t available players but the fact we have made the play offs and can’t make last 8.
Takes a serious edge off for us and we could get bulldozed. On the flip side, we are playing another UK team and Rodgers will be desperate for us to compete.
Hoping for the best but prepared for the worst
PS really liked Valle and sorry to lose him
Hail Hail