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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Lana Mackay

‘I wish I could still play with Kyogo’ – Jota speaks on emotional Celtic return

Jota has revealed he would have loved to rekindle his partnership with Kyogo Furuhasi upon his return to Celtic - as the Japanese forward swaps places to join his former club.

The Portuguese winger completed an £8m move from Ligue 1 side Rennes on Monday, penning a five-and-a-half-year deal which will keep him at Parkhead until June 2030.

Meanwhile, Kyogo has finalised a £10m deal in the opposite direction, joining the French side three and a half years after former boss Ange Postecoglou brought him to Glasgow’s east end in the same transfer window as Jota.

Addressing the media for the first time since his emotional homecoming, Jota admitted he is disappointed the pair won’t have the chance to play alongside each other again. “Kyogo is definitely someone that I have a very good relationship with on the pitch,” he said.


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"This is football. Everything changes from one moment to another and I wish I could still play with him more times, but as I told you, the wheel of football is always moving and then you just need to adapt yourself.”

Jota’s return comes just 18 months after the 25-year-old left the Scottish champions for Al-Ittihad in a deal worth around £25m.

The winger scored a stunning 28 goals and provided 26 assists in his 83 appearances for the Hoops during his initial loan spell and then full season as a signed player.

“I'm buzzing at the moment,” he said. “It feels like home and for me that's something that I was aiming for. Today going to Lennoxtown and training etc, it just felt like nostalgic but it felt like I've never left, so that's the feeling at the moment.”

Celtic are set to face Aston Villa on Wednesday night, but Jota will have to wait to make his second debut as he isn’t registered in Celtic's Champions League squad for the initial stage of the tournament.

He could feature for the Parkhead side this Sunday against Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership, with Celtic travelling to Fir Park aiming to make it three wins in a row across as many competitions.

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