There are seven games left in the Scottish Premiership season for Celtic to retain their title and prevent one of the top two teams in the table from taking the title.
However, one player who will not be involved in the Hoops’ title race is Portuguese winger Jota, who will miss the rest of the season due to injury.
The former Benfica forward has been sidelined since sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in April last year and will miss the entire season despite originally being expected to return by January.
Celtic re-signed Jota from Rennes for £8m in January last year, a year and a half after selling him to Al Ittihad for £25m, but he only made 11 league appearances before suffering an ACL injury.
He has scored 33 goals and provided 28 assists in 99 games for the club, and the Hoops will be looking forward to having his talent back for the 2026/27 season and beyond.
Celtic star open to permanent move to Parkhead
Jota joined Celtic on loan from Benfica for the 2021/22 season under manager Ange Postecoglou, before the Hoops signed him permanently from the Portuguese side for a fee of £6.5m.
The Scottish giants were so impressed in his first season at Parkhead that they signed him on a permanent deal for a big fee, signing him 12 months later for a whopping £25m.
Now, there is one player in Martin O’Neill’s current squad who could follow in Jota’s footsteps by making a permanent move to Glasgow later this year.
According to Football Insider, Bournemouth loanee Julian Araujo is open to making a permanent move to Celtic in the upcoming summer transfer window.
The Mexico international is currently on loan from the Premier League side until the end of the season, but the club have no option of signing him.
Football Insider report that the Hoops want to sign him, Bournemouth are open to a sale and the player himself is open to re-joining the club for a second time.
However, it remains to be seen how much money the Premier League side want for the right-back, considering they spent £8.5m to sign him from Barcelona in 2024.
Why Celtic must sign Julian Araujo permanently
The Hoops should spend big to sign the Mexican full-back on a permanent contract. That’s because he has really started at Parkhead and looks like he will fit perfectly into the club’s culture.
He was a passionate, energetic and quality player who quickly became a fan favorite both for his personality and his performances on the pitch. That’s why Celtic should push to agree a permanent deal with him.
Due to the quality he brings to the field, signing the defender could also be an investment opportunity and could ultimately become Parkhead’s Jota 2.0.
Moments create memories and supporters of the away end against Kilmarnock in February will never forget when Araujo scored his first goal for the club in stoppage time, curling the ball into the top corner to make it 3-2.
The Bournemouth loanee is currently out injured but has all the qualities you would want in a modern full-back. He is fast, defends strongly, contributes offensively and doesn’t make many rash mistakes.
25/26 Premiership | Araujo |
|---|---|
Appearance | 10 |
the goal | 1 |
key pass | 10 |
Pass accuracy | 88% |
Tackles + Interceptions per game | 2.7 |
dribbling success rate | 60% |
Ground duel success rate | 54% |
Number of dribble breakthroughs per game | 0.4 times |
Araujo’s defensive work has been outstanding so far, with only four dribbles in 10 league games, but he is also incredibly reliable with the ball at his feet.
The 24-year-old star is a complete full-back who can score goals, create chances, pass efficiently, win duels with high probability and dribble past opponents.
For all these reasons, Celtic need to sign Araujo on a permanent deal. Because he could be a phenomenal player for the club for years to come.
On top of that, he is only 24 years old and still has room to grow and improve. His performances could then attract the attention of other clubs who could benefit from him in the future, as the Hoops did when they signed Jota on a permanent transfer before selling him to Al Ittihad.
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