Jair Tavares believes Jota will sign a permanent contract this summer with Celtic as he opened up on the advice he gave him ahead of his move to Hibs.
Lee Johnson swooped to bring in the Benfica B star as part of his Easter Road rebuild - with the new boss adding a host of new faces ahead of the new campaign.
The youngster is a massive fan of the Hoops fans' favourite and hailed his debut campaign as 'amazing' with Ange Postecoglou and the Celtic faithful desperately waiting on the news he has re-joined on a permanent basis like team-mate Cameron Carter Vickers.
Tavares has revealed Jota - who he has known since he was a young boy - was a huge help in his decision to make the move to the capital and he told the winger that behind Celtic and Rangers, Hibs are more or less the third force of Scottish football.
Speaking to the Daily Record about his childhood pal and his move to Scotland, he said: “Jota was a legend of Benfica in the academy. He was one of the guys like me, who didn’t have the chance to play at Benfica. We had to look to the future because of this.
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“He did amazing last season and I’m here to support him too.
“There are two Portuguese players in Scotland now, we’re here to represent our country.
“He was always so good. You don’t know Jota! When he was young there was a big difference between him and the others.
“Do I think he will stay at Celtic? I guess. I don’t know but I think yes.
“I asked him about Scottish football and about Hibs too. He gave me some good advice, told me some good things about Hibs.
“He said besides Rangers and Celtic he thought Hibs was more or less the third strongest team in Scotland.
“He helped me so much to decide to come here.
“Of course he’s in a different town but he’s my friend. I’ve known him for a long time. Maybe since I was 10.
“But I hope this season when we play against him we win.
“Everyone knows he is a machine but we are here to stop him.”
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