Jota faces anxious transfer wait as Nuno offers Celtic hero no guarantee on Ittihad squad place with clock ticking

Jota continues to face an anxious wait over his future with Nuno Espirito Santo no closer to revealing his next steps.

The Celtic hero who made the money-spinning switch to Saudi Arabia in June for a whopping £25million has found uncharted waters upon his arrival in Jeddah. He's managed a goal, and a smattering of appearances for champions Al-Ittihad who continues to boast the high-profile arrivals of Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante which were strengthened by Fabinho, previously of Liverpool, joining. But the arrival of Luiz Felipe from Real Betis set the cat among the pidgeons for Jota as he was set to be excluded from the quota of foreign players Ittihad can have registered.

Reports in the Middle East at one point suggested Jota could be a free agent, or be offered a loan move to Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq in the Pro League. A somewhat unlikely matching up with former Rangers man Ryan Kent at Fenerbahce was also floated, but Nuno admits he will be keeping in house what player will have to be bombed out from the squad. when the ex-Tottenham boss makes his final call.

He simply said: "This is an internal matter," as fears continue to mount that the tricky Portuguese winger could be the men set to leave. Jota was not part of the Tigers squad as they saw off Al-Ahkdoud with Benzema the difference maker. Reports suggested the Parkhead title winner may have been injured.

A move to Turkey could still be done despite the Saudi transfer window being closed, as Fenerbahce and other clubs have until Friday evening to make their final moves.

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