Tottenham Hotspur want Jota but the Al Ittihad winger may now stay in Saudi Arabia until next summer amid an imminent rule change.
Tottenham Hotspur may now shelve their interest in Al Ittihad winger Jota amid claims he could move for £30million next summer.
That is according to TEAMtalk, who claim that a new rule will be brought into Saudi football which could impact Jota’s future.
It’s stated that Saudi clubs will be able to name 10 foreign players in their matchday squads from January – an increase from the current number of six.
Jota had been frozen out at Al Ittihad due to that rule, but the increase means he may now stay in Saudi Arabia after all.
Tottenham Hotspur may wait to move for Jota
This isn’t exactly ideal news for Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou.
90Min reported in October that Jota would ‘love’ to sign for Tottenham in order to work under Postecoglou again.
The pair worked together at Celtic with Jota hitting 28 goals and 26 assists in 83 games under the Australian.
Tottenham may well be in the market for another winger in 2024 with Ivan Perisic expected to move on once he returns from injury.
Jota would fit the bill perfectly but TEAMtalk suggest that Jota may now see out the season with Al Ittihad rather than push to leave in January.
It’s suggested that Jota can move on for £30million at the end of the season, but Champions League clubs are eyeing up the Portuguese ‘genius’ for a move, meaning Tottenham face a battle.
Jota will soon have a new manager to impress
Al Ittihad recently made a managerial change, deciding to sack former Tottenham Hotspur boss Nuno Espirito Santo.
Fabrizio Romano now reports that former River Plate boss Marcelo Gallardo is on the verge of becoming Al Ittihad boss.
The Argentinian carved out an incredible reputation with River Plate and had been expected to move to Europe.
Gallardo was even mentioned for the Spurs job back in October, before Tottenham ended up picking Postecoglou.
Jota will now look to impress Gallardo and save his Al Ittihad career – or accept he needs to move back to Europe next summer.
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