Celtic have struck gold in the transfer market many times over the years as they have sold the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Fraser Forster, Odsonne Edouard, and Victor Wanyama, among others, for profit.
The Hoops have made a habit out of plucking out talented young players and helping them to develop and thrive in Scotland before cashing in on them further down the line.
They may hope that some of Brendan Rodgers’ current crop of gems, including Matt O’Riley and Luis Palma, will go on to earn the club a fortune if they continue to progress and increase in value.
One player the Bhoys hit the jackpot with, recently, was Portuguese winger Jota, who they appear to have sold at the best time as his value has plummeted since departing from Parkhead.
The Scottish giants cashed in on the forward last summer in a deal with Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad that Sky Sports reported to be worth £25m, which is the joint-record sale for the club alongside the £25m move to Arsenal for Kieran Tierney.
That move came just 12 months on from the club’s swoop to sign Jota from Benfica for a fee of £6.5m, after an initial season-long loan spell in Glasgow.
As you can see in the table above, the right-footed winger provided a constant threat down the flank as both a scorer and a creator of goals – in equal measure – in the Scottish Premiership.
Jota, who was hailed as Parkhead’s “idol” by scout Jacek Kulig, proved himself to be a fantastic performer on a consistent basis, as evidenced by his fantastic returns in front of goal, and that convinced Al Ittihad to splash a mouth-watering fee of £25m to secure his services last summer.
Unfortunately, the 24-year-old gem’s time with the Saudi Arabian side has been a frustrating one as he was left out of their squad for the Saudi Pro League in September.
There is a restriction on the number of foreign players allowed to be selected and then-manager Nuno Espirito Santo opted to omit him from the roster.
Due to that, Jota has only made 11 appearances in all competitions for his new club since last summer, with five of those coming in the Pro League before they left him out of the squad, and he has contributed with two goals and zero assists.
At the time of writing (20/02/2024), Transfermarkt has his market value at just €9m (£7.7m) and that is a staggering drop of £17.3m from the £25m that Al Ittihad paid for his signature just last year.
This shows that Celtic hit the jackpot last summer when they secured that fee for him as his value has since plummeted, which suggests that the Saudi Arabian side would be unlikely to recoup £25m if they decided to sell him now.
However, new Al Ittihad boss Marcelo Gallardo has reportedly decided to include Jota in his squad for the Saudi Pro League, which is due to resume later this month, and that put an end to January interest from West Ham United.
Hopefully, Jota will now be able to string together a run of impressive form for his club and claw back his market value to either earn a move back to Europe or enjoy a successful time in Saudi Arabia.
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