Celtic are in continued negotiations regarding a deal to bring Jota to Parkhead on a permanent basis.

What's the talk?

In recent comments cited by The Scotsman, the 56-year-old Bhoys boss revealed that Michael Nicholson remains in negotiations with both Benfica and the 22-year-old winger regarding a deal to make the Portuguese U21 international's temporary stay in Glasgow a £6m permanent move.

When asked if the signing of Jota was any closer, Ange Postecoglou said: "If I say we're closer, it's as if something's happened. Those discussions will be taking place over the course of the next period. Michael is at the forefront of that with the players themselves."

Signing of the season

While the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate and Liel Abada are all in with an extremely strong shout as being Celtic's signing of the season in 2021/22, should the Hoops manage to get a deal over the line for Jota in the coming months, the 22-year-old will also be a name right at the top of the list for the accolade of the Bhoys' best incoming transfer.

Indeed, over his 16 Premiership appearances so far this season, the £4.95m-rated winger has been in astonishing form, scoring five goals, registering five assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.6 shots and making 1.5 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £7.1k-per-week forward average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.29, ranking him as the eighth-best player in the top flight of Scottish football.

Furthermore, Jota has also scored a further two goals and provided two assists over his five Europa League outings, in addition to bagging one goal over his two League Cup fixtures - taking his total to eight goals and seven assists over 24 appearances for Celtic.

As such, considering his undoubted ability, potential for further development, age and nationality, should Nicholson indeed manage to land the winger in a £6m deal, it is not difficult to imagine Jota being worth double this immediately after his signing.

That means Celtic will not only retain the services of an extremely talented player, they will also be acquiring an extremely sellable asset, something which could give the 22-year-old the edge in being Postecoglou's signing of the season.

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