Former Celtic star Jota may still have a chance to rescue his career in Saudi Arabia.

Reports have emerged to suggest that the Portuguese winger has been denied a release by Al-Ittihad because they are still considering giving him another chance at the club.

The 24-year-old’s move to the Middle East quickly turned sour this summer. He joined the Saudi champions from Celtic in June for a fee of £25m.

He appeared to integrate into the squad brilliantly, striking up a connection with Karim Benzema upon his arrival from Real Madrid.

However, Jota has managed just five competitive appearances for the club and the switch to Saudi has not gone to plan.

Jota was not registered by Al-Ittihad for their squad to compete in the Saudi Pro League.

Due to the division’s rules, clubs are only allowed eight foreign players in the squad. Al-Ittihad had too many, and so Nuno Espirito Santo left Jota out of his ranks.

It means that, until January, Jota can only feature in AFC Champions League and Club World Cup games.

This had led to speculation that the winger would attempt to terminate his contract with the prospect of next to no football for the next several months.

However, according to Saudi media outlet HiHi, the club’s management are considering bringing Jota back into their league squad when the winter window re-opens.

Speaking to football TV show Dorena Ghir, Hamad Al-Suwaihi was far from convinced about the move.

The insider said: “Jota is contracted at a large financial cost without the club benefiting from his services.

“Ittihad’s management must be held accountable for contracting with Jota. What happened is considered a disaster.”