Celtic likely to have ‘deferred’ Jota talks after £6.4m update – expert
Alex McLeish has claimed it is likely Celtic “deferred” contract talks with Jota until the end of the season as negotiations rumble on.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Scotland manager suggested the Hoops would not have wanted to distract the 23-year-old during their push for the Premiership title.
As reported by the Daily Record (4 June), Celtic are locked in talks with Jota over personal terms as they look to sign him permanently from Benfica.
The Hoops have reportedly agreed a £6.4million transfer fee with the Portuguese giants.
The report claims the club are now negotiating wages and length of contract with the player.
Asked if he was surprised terms had not been agreed throughout the season, McLeish suggested Celtic may have pushed back talks.
“I think they probably wanted to make sure that they won the title, when they were in that ascendency,” McLeish told Football Insider’s Russell Edge.
“It’s difficult to try. I think they probably, and we certainly did this back in the day, wanted to defer talks. The players get too caught up in talking about money and contracts rather than concentrating on the game.
“That’s what agents do now. They try and take that pressure away from from the players.
“For Jota, it seems like a bargain in terms of the price as well. He grew and grew during the season as well. At first, you’re thinking is this guy just a maverick type of player who does it every now and again?
“But his consistency was tremendous. No wonder Celtic are trying to sign him. They will want to tie that down as quickly as possible.”
Jota scored 13 goals and contributed 14 assists in 40 appearances for the Bhoys during the 2021/22 campaign.
In other news, Rangers and Celtic stars tipped to join Premier League clubs after what pundit’s heard.