Celtic went through a summer of change as they lost key members of the club on and off the pitch after their treble-winning 2022/23 campaign.
The Hoops were dealt a blow in the dugout as manager Ange Postecoglou decided to try his luck down south with a move to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.
Jota and Carl Starfelt also both left on permanent deals from the first-team squad, whilst central midfielder Aaron Mooy confirmed his retirement from football.
Brendan Rodgers was brought in for a second spell in charge of the Scottish giants and was allowed to bring in nine new recruits to improve his squad.
Odin Thiago Holm, Paulo Bernardo, Hyeok-kyu Kwon, Hyun-jun Yang, Marco Tilio, Nat Phillips, Luis Palma, Gustaf Lagerbielke, and Maik Nawrocki were all snapped up.
The upcoming January transfer window will provide the Northern Irish head coach with an opportunity to make further additions to his group of players, and he has already been touted with a swoop for one of the club's former players.
Celtic transfer news – Jota
A recent report from 90min named Celtic as one of a number of sides interested in a potential swoop to sign Portuguese forward Jota from Al Ittihad at the turn of the year.
The outlet claimed that Premier League teams Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United are both keeping tabs on the exciting attacker, who could be available at the start of 2024.
It is stated that the 5 foot 9 whiz would be keen on a move to reunite with his former Hoops manager Postecoglou at Spurs, however, the Bhoys are also keen to bring him back to Parkhead to allow him to work with Rodgers in competitive matches for the first time.
Al Ittihad splashed the cash to land the former Benfica ace during the summer transfer window as they paid the Scottish giants a reported fee of £25m for his services.
It has been a difficult start to life in Saudi Arabia for Jota, though, as the winger was not selected to be a part of their domestic squad and has not played a league match since the 1st of September.
The right-footed magician has only scored one goal in seven appearances in all competitions for Al Ittihad, and is yet to assist a single goal for his new club.
Despite his struggles this season, Jota could still be a phenomenal signing for Celtic as he is a proven performer in the Scottish Premiership who could come in as a big upgrade on Daizen Maeda for Rodgers.
Palma was brought in to replace the Portuguese forward and has contributed with an outstanding five goals and five assists in 12 matches in all competitions since his move from Aris.
This has left Maeda on the other flank for the Hoops and the Japan international is yet to prove that he has the quality to deliver consistent end product at the top end of the pitch.
Maeda's Celtic statistics
The 26-year-old forward has started 11 of the club's Premiership matches so far this season and has chipped in with two goals and two assists.
He has lacked a ruthless edge in front of goal as the Celtic winger has missed a staggering seven 'big chances' already, which suggests that the Japanese attacker has let his teammates down as they have created enough huge opportunites for him to have more than two goals by this point.
His creativity has not made up for his wasteful finishing as Maeda has produced 0.8 key passes per game for his fellow attackers, which places him joint-tenth within the squad and shows that the current Bhoys gem does not create chances on a regular basis.
This comes off the back of his return of eight goals and five assists in 35 Premiership appearances throughout the 2022/23 campaign for Postecoglou.
The right-footed whiz missed 11 'big chances' and only made 0.8 key passes per match for his team, a creative output that placed him joint-14th within the squad alongside Sead Haksabanovic.
Maeda racked up 11 goals and seven assists in 49 outings in all competitions last season, and has managed two goals and three assists in 17 clashes this term.
This means that the Japan international is on 13 goals and ten assists in his last 66 games for Celtic, which is an average of one goal contribution every 2.87 matches.
Jota's Celtic statistics
Jota, on the other hand, enjoyed a terrific two years in Scotland, with the first one spent on an initial loan deal from Benfica before it was made permanently in 2022.
In his first season with the Hoops, the brilliant hotshot hit the ground running in Scottish football with 13 goals and 14 assists in 49 outings for the club in all competitions.
He plundered ten goals and ten assists in 29 Premiership matches for Postecoglou and only missed three 'big chances', which illustrates how impressive the gem was in front of goal.
Jota also had a reason to be frustrated with his teammates as they only rewarded him with ten assists from the 17 'big chances' and two key passes per game he created throughout the campaign.
The 24-year-old talent followed that up with an excellent return of 15 goals and 12 assists in 43 appearances for the Scottish giants throughout the 2022/23 season.
22 of those goal contributions came in the Premiership as the Portuguese talent produced 11 goals and 11 assists in 33 top-flight games for the Hoops.
In total, Jota, who was dubbed a "revelation" at Celtic by former Scotland boss Alex McLeish, amassed 28 goals and 26 assists in 92 matches for the Bhoys, which is one goal contribution every 1.7 games on average.
These statistics suggest that the Al Ittihad flop has the quality to provide far more than Maeda in the final third, both as a scorer and a creator of goals.
Jota has proven his ability in Scotland and showcased his knack of scoring and assisting goals far more regularly than the current Celtic forward, which is why Rodgers could secure a big upgrade for his attack by beating off Premier League competition to bring the dynamo back to Parkhead during the upcoming January transfer window.
