Celtic can replace Jota by signing "one of the standout players in La Liga"

It promises to be an important and busy summer at Celtic.

Despite being on the brink of a sixth domestic treble in just nine seasons, progress in Europe remains Brendan Rodgers’ primary ambition, so he’ll want to bolster his squad, seeking to better Celtic’s run to the Champions League first knockout round this season.

Well, just to get into next term’s league phase, the Hoops will have to come through a play-off in August, which certainly will not be straightforward, given that their opponents are currently projected to be one of Crvena zvezda, Bodø/Glimt, København, Ferencváros or Dinamo Zagreb.

Thus, Rodgers will be eager to get Celtic’s summer business done as early and as expediently as possible. The need to replace Jota is an important matter.

The latest on Jota’s injury

Earlier this month, Rodgers confirmed what every Celtic supporter had feared, revealing that Jota had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament at Tannadice against Dundee United, meaning he will be sidelined for “six to nine months”.

The Portuguese winger only returned to Glasgow as recently as January, rejoining from Stade Rennais for a reported fee of £8m, having been sold to Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League for a club-record £25m a year and a half earlier.

Jota marked his return by scoring against Motherwell at Fir Park, on target five times in 16 appearances for the Celts since returning in total but, sadly, we will not see him on a pitch any time soon.

Thus, in need of a new wide attacker, could Celtic secure a very highly-rated winger?

The Jota replacement that Celtic must sign

Reports from Spain back in January suggested that Celtic were ‘considering’ a move to sign Real Valladolid winger Raúl Moro.

During the winter transfer window, Ajax technical director Alex Kroes went public with the Dutch giant’s interest in Moro, exclaiming “we are interested… yes”, adding that the 22-year-old “can play on both the left and right wings”.

Moro joined Valladolid permanently from Lazio, following a one-year loan spell, last summer for a reported fee of €2.5m (around £2.1m), but reports now believe he is valued at £8.5m.

Los Blanquivioletas though, are under pressure to sell, having been relegated from La Liga, collecting just 16 points all season, making Moro’s eye-catching performances all the more impressive.

Ryan McDonald of the Daily Record describes the Spaniard as a ‘rising star’ whose career has ‘exploded into life’ this season, while data analyst Berk Bekgöz believes he has been “one of the standout players in La Liga​​​​​​​” this year, praising his “speed, agility, and effective dribbling”.

​​​​​​​So, let’s assess how Moro and Jota compare.

As the table outlines, Moro’s statistics this season are almost universally more impressive, while taking into account he’s played over 1,100 minutes more, but this is surely offset by the fact that Valladolid are one of the worst teams in La Liga history.

The highly-rated youngster is surely not going to stick around for a campaign in the Segunda División, so will more than likely be on the move this summer and, while they face competition from other clubs, Celtic should do all they can to secure his services.

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