Postecoglou in dreamland, as top Tottenham target is ‘made available for loan’ in January in big twist

Harry Watkinson 28 Nov 2023 9:55 AM

Tottenham Hotspur have stepped up their pursuit of Al Ittihad winger Jota ahead of the January transfer window, according to reports.

The Portugal international spent two seasons at Celtic while Ange Postecoglou was in charge and the manager is extremely keen to reunite with him at Spurs.

Jota made 83 appearances in total under Postecoglou, scoring a very impressive 28 goals and making 26 assists. With that in mind, it’s no surprise to see him on Tottenham’s transfer shortlist.

He joined Al-Ittihad in a deal worth just over £26m, breaking the Scottish transfer record previously held by Arsenal full-back Kieran Tierney.

The 24-year-old has endured a difficult start to life in Saudi Arabia, finding himself left out of the At-Ittihad squad on a few occasions.

Jota has been more involved in recent weeks, however, making five league appearances overall, scoring once.

Recent reports have suggested that Jota is unhappy at Al Ittihad, who could be forced into offloading him in January if he submits a transfer request.

Therefore, we could see Jota reunite with Postecoglou earlier than initially anticipated.

Tottenham plan loan move for Jota

Tottenham had a fantastic start to this season, but recent injuries to the likes of James Maddison and Micky van de Ven have seen them drop to fifth place in the table.

As a result, Postecoglou is already eyeing improvements for his squad in January and as mentioned, Jota is at the top of his shortlist.

Now, according to The Times, Jota has been ‘made available for loan’ in January by Al Ittihad.

This is because he has been mostly ineligible to play for the Saudi club due to a rule limiting them to having eight foreign players.

The report adds that Tottenham’s priority this winter is to sign a new centre-back, but could also bring in a new winger to provide ‘short -term cover’ for the currently injured Manor Solomon and Ivan Perisic.

Signing Jota on loan could therefore prove to be an ideal solution for Postecoglou.

One person who would love to see Jota at Spurs is Ally McCoist. In an interview with talkSPORT, the ex-Rangers striker said: “Good player. Listen, I thought he was a terrific player, a real talent.”

McCoist was then asked whether Jota is good enough for the Premier League, to which he replied: “Yes, and he looks like a Spurs player as well.

“He takes people on, he’s quite easy on the eye, he’ll score his fair share of goals. I think he’d be an interesting signing.”

It will be interesting to see if Tottenham are successful in signing Jota on loan in January. As it stands, it seems the London club have a good chance at getting their man.

Jota