Jota injury is Celtic explosion that will cause transfer tremors and Paul Tisdale better get his skates on

Daily Record

03-05-2025

Our man Michael Gannon reckons the devastating impact of the Portuguese star's injury will be felt in the recruitment department
In tabloid terms, a player suffering a long term injury is usually called a blow.
With Jota, it's more like an explosion.
‌
This is the kind of bad news that fires shrapnel across every department of a club.
‌
First of all there's the personal angle. For a guy who won the lottery with his move to Saudi Arabia, Jota hasn't had much luck since.
The life tax has hit the lad hard with a rough time in the Middle East and a frustrating spell in France that followed.
It seemed like everything was coming back together for the 26-year-old until, bang, his ACL goes at Tannadice and now he's looking at nine months on the sidelines.
He might be worth a few quid, but that's a sore one.
It's also caused a major crater in Brendan Rodgers' team. Even a 70 percent fit Jota was a massive contributor to the Hoops in recent months and he would have been fully up to speed in time for the start of next season.
The injury has given Rodgers a headache in the short term and an issue that will need tackled in the long.
‌
That's where the fall out of the injury will be felt most.
It's now over to Paul Tisdale and his recruitment department to get to work – and the club's money men to dig out the bag of dosh.
‌
Jota being out until 2026 will force another shift in strategy when it comes to summer transfers.
Celtic already needed another striker and an extra wide man – now they'll need to add a top class winger to the shopping list.
That might sound cold when one of their main men will come back eventually.
‌
But it's also a harsh reality. Celtic have a vital Champions League qualifier to deal with this season and then, they hope, the group stages once again.
Jota would have been a huge part of the campaign, but now he'll be out of commission for the duration.
And Celtic will need to act.
‌
They already look light in the attacking areas. Daizen Maeda has combined roles as the main striker for the season half of the season, with the occasional shift back out wide – sometimes in the same games.
Adam Idah will get the nod up front against Rangers at Ibrox and while the big Irishman's numbers are decent, he could do with catching fire and keep smouldering through pre-season.
Nicolas Kuhn should still be around, with the transfer talk around the German cooling in recent weeks, and there's Yang Hyun-Jun and James Forrest around too.
‌
Yang has shown positive signs but he's no Jota. No one will doubt Forrest's club legend status these days but he'll be 34-year-old in July and probably a handy cameo man.
That's why Celtic will need to get their skates on. They might be walking out at Hampden at the end of May but the real cup final is that qualifier at the end of August.
‌
This summer is when we'll see how the new look recruitment set up is working.
In January, Celtic brought back Jota and teed up a return for Kieran Tierney, while also drafting in Kasper Schmeichel's old Leicester City teammate Jeffrey Schlupp.
It's not like these guys were dug out like diamonds in the rough by some super scout or unearthed using one of these fancy algorithms some clubs are using these days.
‌
Tisdale and co need to come up with the goods because, let's face it, despite Celtic's dominance, some of the recent windows have been a bit iffy.
A lot of the players who have driven this success have been around for a good while and they could do with some back up.
Celtic can enjoy their risk free jaunt to Ibrox and then savour a shot at another Treble.
But that doesn't mean the folk behind the scenes can afford to sit back and admire the view.
They are the ones who need to pick up the pieces from the damage left by the Jota devastation.