Nuno Espirito Santo’s arrival at Nottingham Forest has fueled speculation that the club will make a move for Jota. Earlier this week, the Portuguese head coach took over for Steve Cooper.
Jota joined Al-Ittihad for £25 million in July 2023 and worked under Espirito Santo after leaving Celtic. He scored twice in 11 games across all competitions in Saudi Arabia.
If Forest is interested in Jota, signing him will be difficult. Al-Ittihad has touted the player back to Celtic, and given how brilliant he was for the Hoops, it seems very likely that they will want to learn more.
The National reports that Jota could be available for a loan deal in January. With that in mind, Espirito Santo may consider bringing Jota to Forest once the window opens.
Journalist thinks Forest might sign Jota
Mark Guidi has made these claims on an episode of The Go Radio Football Show earlier this week. He thinks that Espirito Santo moving to Forest could tempt him into signing Jota.
He said: “I wonder, if we’re just joining the dots, if Nuno Espirito Santo does get that job, does that open the door for Jota to go there on loan in January given that Espirito Santo signed him for the Saudi Arabian club.”
Jota’s record at Celtic was, to say the least, impressive. During his 83 appearances, he scored 28 goals and registered 26 assists, winning two Scottish Premiership titles.
Jota could be ideal at the City Ground
Out wide is one area of the Forest squad that could use some improvement. Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi are both at the club, but there are few other options.
Jota is a left-sided midfielder who would make sense for Forest if they could do something in January.
Ange Postecoglou admires the player. When he was playing for Celtic in 2021, the head coach came out and called him ‘outstanding’ after the Hoops won.
In January, Forest are likely to spend more time offloading players. The squad is quite large, and Espirito Santo could do a lot worse than sign Jota on loan to bolster the flank options.
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