I didn't like watching Jota at Celtic first time around for one key reason but now I hope he brings his swagger back

Luke McCowan sat on the Dens Park bench watching in awe as Celtic’s number 17 ran Dundee ragged.

When he eventually got on his team were 4-1 down with Jota causing havoc for the visitors. The second goal of his double - a clinical volley - was a thing of beauty and had taken the game away from the Dark Blues. McCowan always knew how good the Portuguese winger was. Because as a Hoops fan, he’d marvelled at his displays in Old Firm derbies against Rangers.

But that day on Tayside, he got to witness it first hand. It was November, 2021. Now, just over three years later, he’s getting up close and personal with Jota again. Only this time, they’re Celtic team-mates after the wide man’s sensational £9 million return to Parkhead last week. McCowan is getting used to playing alongside top talent in Brendan Rodgers’ side since arriving from Dens in the summer.

But he’s delighted that Jota’s back - and revealed that he's already hit the ground running at Lennoxtown. After previously going up against him twice as a Dundee player, he’s relieved they’re now on the same side. And ahead of Jota’s big comeback against Motherwell at Fir Park this afternoon, McCowan says he looks just as good as he did before he left in 2022.

Ahead of the Premiership clash, the midfielder said: “He’s been amazing in training so far. He’s looked very sharp, just like the last time I watched him. I played against him when he was at Celtic before a couple of years ago.

“So it’s just great to have him in the building. I hadn’t met him before but he’s such a nice guy. He’s immediately gelled back in, probably just like he did previously.

“What will he bring to our team? He’s similar to Nicolas Kuhn. He takes the ball and travels with it. He drives forward,