Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has claimed that he would love to bring Jota to Parkhead on a permanent basis.

What's the talk?

In recent comments cited by the Scottish Sun, the 56-year-old Bhoys boss revealed that, amid reports suggesting that Michael Nicholson is plotting a move to make the winger's loan deal a €7.5m (£6.5m) permanent switch in January, hinting he would love to retain the services of the Portugal U21 international beyond the end of the current campaign.

Speaking about the situation surrounding the 22-year-old, Postecoglou said: "He's doing really well, he's a young man who knows he's got a hell of a lot of talent but he also knows he needs the right environment as well.

"He hasn’t had the easiest start to his career, he was out on loan last year and it didn't work out for him. I think he's loving life here and my job is to make him the best possible player he can be.

"If he feels that this is the place for his future we'd be more than happy to keep him here but he's got a pretty good head on his shoulders and he knows that the best way forward for him is to keep playing his football and the rest will take care of itself."

When questioned if Celtic hold an option to make the Benfica man's loan a permanent move, the Hoops manager added: "That's correct."

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how impressive Jota has been since joining Celtic back in August, the news that Postecoglou is hoping to secure a move to keep the winger at Parkhead beyond the end of his temporary deal is sure to have left fans of the club buzzing.

Indeed, over his nine Scottish Premiership appearances this season, the £3.15m-rated man has already bagged four goals, registered four assists and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.9 shots and making 1.4 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the player who Postecoglou himself dubbed an "unbelievable" talent average a rather remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.40, ranking the winger as the sixth-best performer in the top flight of Scottish football.

However, it is not only in the league that Jota has been impressing, with the loanee scoring one goal, providing two assists and creating four big chances over his four Europa League fixtures for the club - metrics which have seen the £7.1k-per-week man average a SofaScore match rating of 7.55.

Further still, the forward also scored one goal in his one Scottish League Cup appearance, taking his total haul to six goals and six assists in just 14 games played this season.

As such, it is clear for all to see that the 22-year-old would make a fantastic permanent addition to the Celtic squad, and for a reported transfer fee of just £6.5m, he could well be the bargain of the season.

In other news: Nicholson makes big decision on £16k-p/w "problem", it will leave Celtic fans buzzing