‘He’ll replicate the same at Spurs’: Ange hit jackpot for Celtic by signing “revelation” whose value soared 285% in 1 year
Ange Postecoglou, the former Celtic head coach, had two trophy-filled seasons in charge of the Scottish behemoths.
How many trophies did Postecoglou win with Celtic?
The Australian tactician, who joined Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur earlier this year, plundered five pieces of silverware in two seasons with the Bhoys.
Trophy | Season won |
---|---|
Scottish Premiership | 21/22 |
Scottish League Cup | 21/22 |
Scottish Premiership | 22/23 |
Scottish League Cup | 22/23 |
Scottish Cup | 22/23 |
Prior to orchestrating a domestic treble during the 2022–23 season, Postecoglou won the league and cup double in Scottish football during his rookie season.
That success was greatly aided by his extraordinary talent for identifying diamonds in the transfer market, as seen by the fact that players like Jota, Kyogo Furuhashi, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Matt O’Riley were all acquired by the now-Spurs manager.
In particular, Jota was a brilliant acquisition by the former Hoops manager since, following an outstanding two years at Parkhead, he made a sizable profit for the team.
How much was Jota worth at Benfica?
By the time Benfica made the decision to loan him out to the Scottish powerhouses in the summer of 2021, FootballTransfers estimated his Expected Transfer Value (xTV) to be €3.4m (£2.9m).
After a challenging start to life in professional football, the talented winger was let to depart the Portuguese team as he struggled to consistently produce attacking quality.
Jota earned a promotion to the senior squad by contributing to eight goals and nine goals in 47 games for their B side, but he was unable to maintain that level of play after that. However, the youthful star only managed two goals and three assists in 34 first-team appearances for Benfica, including zero goals in 23 matches against Liga Portugal opponents.
He next played at Real Valladolid on loan for the 2020–21 season, and the troubles persisted. The 5 foot 9 forward contributed with one goal and no assists or “big chances” made in 17 LaLiga games throughout the year, earning an average Sofascore rating of 6.66.
How did Jota perform for Celtic?
Prior to the 2021/22 season, Postecoglou decided to sign the gifted genius on an initial loan contract for Celtic despite his subpar performances for Benfica and Valladolid.
As Jota went on to have his breakthrough season as a professional for the Hoops, the Australian boss’s decision proved to be wise.
The Portuguese star, who played in 29 Scottish Premiership games for the head coach, had an average Sofascore rating of 7.56, good for third place in the team only behind Ryan Christie and David Turnbull.
With ten goals and 10 assists in the top division, Jota finally demonstrated his ability to regularly score and assist goals from wide positions.
The Benfica loanee was crucial to Postecoglou’s offense, as only Giorgos Giakoumakis (13) and Kyogo Furuhashi (12) scored more goals than him. No other player reached double digits in assists either.
Celtic decided to exercise their option to acquire him permanently as a result of his outstanding play, and the dynamic ace signed a five-year deal at Parkhead for a rumoured transfer cost of £6.5 million.
How much is Jota worth now?
The 24-year-old star is presently valued at £25 million because that is what it is said that Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad paid to sign him away from the Celtics this summer.
This demonstrates that Postecoglou won the jackpot with him as the contract to sign him up ended up generating the club a handsome profit after just one year in Scotland on a permanent basis. His value increased by 285% on the initial £6.5m that the Bhoys spent to recruit him from Benfica.
The Australian manager recognized a young youngster with promise and utilized his teaching skills to transform him into a mega-money asset for the Scottish giants, which they cashed in on to fuel a summer spending spree under Brendan Rodgers with nine new acquisitions this year.
Why was Jota worth that much?
After the Portugal U21 international had a standout 2022–23 season with the Hoops as a reliable danger at the top of the pitch, Al Ittihad attempted to sign him.
The highest score in the squad, Jota’s average Sofascore rating of 7.45, shows that he was Postecoglou’s standout performer during the season because he outperformed players like O’Riley, Kyogo, Carter-Vickers, and Callum McGregor.
With 11 goals and 11 assists in 33 Scottish Premiership games, the young prodigy once again showed that he can consistently score and set up goals.
Only Kyogo (27) and O’Riley (12) contributed more assists to Celtic’s league goals than Jota, who generated an average of 1.9 critical passes per game and created a total of 13 ‘big opportunities’ for his teammates.
The £25 million star, previously hailed as a “revelation” by former Scotland manager Alex McLeish, also drew people’s attention with his Champions League performances.
He contributed two goals and 2.3 critical passes per game, and across his four games in Europe’s top cup tournament, he had the highest overall Sofascore rating of 7.40.
These numbers demonstrate Jota’s ability to routinely deliver outstanding performances for Celtic in both domestic and European competition as a winger who could contribute quality in the final third on a weekly basis.
Although the former Benfica prodigy didn’t cut it in Portugal or Spain, Postecoglou’s system and coaching style undoubtedly brought out the most in the extraordinary potential, allowing him to flourish and develop in Scotland.
This meant that Celtic received two outstanding seasons of fantastic play from him off the field before being able to sell him to Al Ittihad for £25 million and reap a handsome return for his services.
Postecoglou therefore struck it rich for the Hoops with the initial choice to sign him despite his subpar performance in two nations prior to his move to Scotland.
Hopefully some of Rodgers’ nine new signings this summer will be as successful as Jota was when playing at Parkhead.