The reason I’m a little reluctant to write the stories about Jota being in talks with Celtic is that there were similar stories about Cameron Carter Vickers doing the rounds a few weeks ago, and they have fallen silent on us.
I’m not saying that those talks collapsed, but there’s been nothing current on them lately.
For the record, I still think both players will be wanted by the club and that both players will sign for the club.
My preference remains the big defender, if we could only go for one, but the budget is there to sign them both and Jota has been excellent recently after a lull following his injury.
Both have played a huge role in this campaign’s success story.
None of these deals are done until there’s ink on a contract, and until there’s ink on a contract anything can happen.
But these guys are now going to have Champions League stages on which to strut; that’s a big plus for them, and there are opportunities on that stage which a professional early in his career might find hard to resist.
Carter Vickers was recently rewarded with international recognition; he wouldn’t have got that bench warming in England.
We have given him that platform.
Jota, likewise, has come along by giant strides since the season started. His was a career with a lot of early promise but no tangible progress. That has changed dramatically.
These guys have more to grow, and plenty more to offer, which is why I’ll be thrilled if we get both of the deals done but won’t celebrate them until they are.
The upside is that the money is there and we know it is.
If this club finds these players willing, it has the financial muscle to keep them here for years, or at least long enough to sell at obscene profit.
That is the reality, and as quiet as things have gotten I am confident that behind the scenes some negotiations are still taking place.
When the dust settles and they sign, I’ll celebrate that with gusto.
Until then we play the waiting game but secure in one piece of knowledge; if Plan A fails this manager will have a Plan B.
The old days of waiting, in hope, for something to come along are over under Ange.
I was not aware we had actually won the league yet so maybe they are waiting to see how things turn out
Not sure if spending £16million of our transfer kitty on two players is wise and remember we will have to pay £2.5million for Maeda.
Sure sounds like a lot of money but then not really. Speculate to accumulate, both in having a successful squad and potential transfer profits later. We could always buy Motherwell, Hibs or St Mirren players for less, have a lot less success and little transfer profit.
Jota and CCV are good players, both having had individually successful seasons and having provided major contributions to the squad. Nothing’s ever risk free but I say get them signed up. We didn’t use up a transfer kitty this season, we spend our incomings from player transfer sales so surely we still have some money in credit. Maeda’s transfer cost should be less painful so why not. We should still have a transfer kitty excess to improve the squad still further