Jota reveals long interest in Celtic and plans to make impact

Celtic’s new signing Jota has revealed that he has had an interest in the club since he was a child and that it was a simple decision to move to Parkhead for the next stage of his career.

The 22-year-old is on loan from Benfica, with Celtic holding an option to buy if the move works out.

The winger, who spent last season on loan at Rayo Vallecano, says he has had a Celtic scarf for a decade and has kept an eye on the team from afar.

“It’s a funny story, actually,” he said. “When I was younger at Benfica, I think I was 11 or 12 years old, I went to watch Benfica play in the Champions League and I changed scarves with a Celtic fan.

“I still have it at home – green and white – and since then I have always remembered the club and paid attention to what they are doing.

“It’s an easy decision to play for Celtic and when I knew about their interest I couldn’t look to other things, I knew it was the right place to be.”

The Portuguese forward joins a Celtic team that is being transformed by manager Ange Postecoglou and says he is ready to get started after training with some of his new teammates during the international break.

“I’m very excited to be here and I can’t wait to start playing and fighting for this club and to win titles,” he said.

“The club speaks for itself, the historical things Celtic have done in the past is unbelievable.

“It’s an amazing club with new ideas, fresh ideas and the type of football they practice is very good and I think it suits me.

“I just want to give the maximum I can give to help the coach, the club and my teammates to achieve everything we want.”

And Jota says he can bring something different to the attack.

I think I can bring improvisation, I’ll try to bring something new to the game. I’ll aim for goals, assists and most of all help my teammates to win games.