Report claims that Jota could be sent out on loan from Al Ittihad

The Sun is claiming that reports from Saudi Arabia suggest that Al Ittihad could send Jota out on loan- a month after signing the winger from Celtic in a £25m deal.

Clubs in the Saudi League are allowed to play eight foreign players with Brazilians and other Arab players flocking to the league before the summer push that has transformed the traditional transfer market.

When Karim Benzema left Real Madrid for Al Ittihad with a year left on his contract things started to get serious with Chelsea and Liverpool losing players that would never normally consider a move to effectively a football backwater.

The rush to sign big names on amazing contracts is starting to cause some problems as managers try to plan their teams and squads with The Sun reporting:

FORMER Celtic star Jota is reportedly going to be sent out on a shock loan by his new club in Saudi Arabia … just weeks after signing for £25 million.

The Portuguese winger was a key player for the Hoops last season and his move came as a huge blow to Celtic fans as he departed for Al-Ittihad.

He’s featured in three of his new club’s games since his signing – in the Arab Champions Cup against ES Tunis, CS Sfaxien and Al-Shorta with Al-Hilal to come today ahead of the new season starting next week.

But bombshell reports in Saudi Arabia have suggested the club have decided to send Jota to a yet-unnamed destination on loan because they want to bring in yet another high-profile world star.

They have already splashed out millions on signing Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, as well as that huge financial outlay for Jota.

But Al-Ittihad have reportedly decided they want another marquee signing and have decided Jota will be sacrificed so they can free up space for a ‘world class’ striker, according to Saudi media reports.

Many fans will be cynical over ‘bombshell reports in Saudi Arabia’ after years of bombshell reports about Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent and whoever else is flavour of the month in a blue shirt.

A move back to Celtic would be welcomed by many but a loan deal for Jota would only be a short term fix with Brendan Rodgers clearly planning for the medium term.

Having uprooted to move to Saudi Arabia if he was to go on loan it is likely that another Saudi club would be a more realistic option.

Returning to Europe on the eve of the new season would be highly risky but if that club was Benfica it is likely that the former Celt could be persuaded to get on a flight to Lisboa.