Celtic star Jota will can reach ‘another level’ if he can keep his fitness in the second half of the season as the club look to retain the Scottish Premiership.
That’s according to ex-Hibernian forward Tam McManus, who spoke to Football Insider about the Hoops wide-man.
The Portuguese winger has five goals to his name this season from 13 league appearances. Furthermore, he’s averaged match rating of 7.56 on Sofascore, showing he’s a key player for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
McManus believes if Celtic were in the Europa League, he’d be a player that would be a big boost for them, citing his free kick against Real Madrid as an example of his quality.
He stated: “It’s just a shame that Celtic are not in Europe because they would have a fully fit Jota to help them in the Europa League or the Conference League.
“I mean, we all saw his goal against Real Madrid, it was an incredible goal. To beat Courtois from there was just genius.
“We all know his quality and he showed it on the biggest stage, there. He wasn’t even fully fit, and that, for me, is the scary thing.
“He will be another level in the second half of the season if he can keep his fitness.”
TIF Thoughts on McManus’ Jota comments…
We believe that Jota is someone worth highlighting when it comes to Celtic’s finest players at present. He joined on a permanent deal last summer from Benfica following a successful loan spell.
One example of the 23-year-old’s brilliance for Celtic last season came in a 6-0 thrashing against Motherwell, as the winger got himself a goal and a 9/10 rating via Sofascore.
Jota missed five games for Celtic in October this season, but he returned when the Hoops faced Livingston. He’s had a big impact since his return to the starting XI against Dundee United, earning an 8.4 rating on Sofascore as he also bagged an assist.
There’s no doubt Jota will be key for Celtic this season. We think keeping him fit will be essential if they’re to retain the league title, as it’s clear from the stats that he’s one of their star players.