Celtics Finds A Proper Replacement For Liel Abada To Splash A Whopping Sum Of…
With Liel Abada leaving the club recently, Celtic are expected to try to sign a winger in the summer. The Hoops’ flanks have been significantly weakened over the past year and one could argue that they never really replaced Jota in the first place, with the Portuguese winger leaving for Al-Ittihad in a £25 million move.
The likes of Nicolas Kuhn and Yang Hyun-jun have both shown quality in recent performances. But it remains to be seen if they can deliver on a consistent basis and in the big games like Jota used to.
Interestingly, Celtic are being linked with a Portuguese winger. Not only that, but he is a namesake of Jota as well.
As reported by HITC, Celtic, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford and Bournemouth are all following Jota Silva. Leicester City and Southampton appear to hold an interest in the Portuguese.
Celtic want to sign brilliant Portugal international
Silva has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign at Vitoria Guimaraes, the club where Mikey Johnston spent last season on loan. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has scored 13 goals and provided 7 assists in 32 appearances this season.
So impressive have been Silva’s performances that he recently made his debut for the Portugal national team as well. He came on as a substitute against Sweden.
Silva can play on both wings as well as a centre-forward if the situation calls for it. Also, he is 24 years of age and yet to enter his prime. It was not long ago that he was playing in the fourth division of Portuguese football.
Silva has earned comparisons with Manchester City’s Jack Grealish. Now, it remains to be seen if Celtic make a push to sign the Portuguese international. If they do, they will have to overcome some heavy competition for his signature.
Celtic have had quite a few injuries to contend with this season. Several key players have missed quite a few games already. The summer signings haven’t quite worked as expected either and it has all combined to limit Brendan Rodgers’ selection options. Seeing Nicolas Kuhn and Kyogo Furuhashi finding better form against St Johnstone has certainly come as a relief in a time of need.
Hopefully, Rodgers is now getting closer to having a reasonably full squad available after the international break. Cameron Carter-Vickers’ return last weekend was a significant step towards that.
This week saw Reo Hatate getting closer to a return too. He had been an important player for the Hoops in the previous two campaigns.
His time on the pitch this season though has been limited as he struggled to remain fit for any considerable length of time.
The start of the season saw David Turnbull being selected ahead of Hatate. A hamstring injury picked up against Atletico Madrid in October put the Japanese ace out of action for several weeks.
He returned to the bench against the Rangers in early January. But his return was short-lived, as he picked up a calf injury while playing for Japan at the AFC Asian Cup and has been on the sidelines since then.