Newcastle are now interested in signing £25m ‘genius’ who wants to be released

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Newcastle United continue to be linked with signing Ruben Neves, but now they have their eye on another Portuguese player who moved to Saudi Arabia in the summer.

A potential deal for Neves has come under a huge amount of scrutiny, and could actually be banned if Newcastle’s Premier League rivals get their way. Clubs are set to vote on a temporary ban on clubs loaning players from clubs with the same owner.

That would stop Newcastle from temporarily signing Neves, and it could also hinder their interest in Jota.

Newcastle interested in Jota

According to 90min, Newcastle are one of two Premier League clubs who are keeping an eye on Al Ittihad winger Jota. The other club that is named is Tottenham Hotspur, who are managed by Jota’s former boss Ange Postecoglu.

The 24-year-old is another player who is being linked with a move away from Saudi Arabia, just months after moving there.

He joined Al Ittihad, who are owned by PIF, from Celtic in the summer, with the Hoops receiving £25million for the winger.

However, the move has not worked out. After making five Saudi Pro League appearances, Jota was removed from Al Ittihad’s official squad.

He has only made seven appearances in total for his new club, and it was claimed back in October by 90min that he would like to be released from his contract.

That is yet to happen, which means it might be difficult for Newcastle to sign him.

Newcastle signing Jota feels unlikely

Just like with Neves, it looks like the Magpies won’t be able to do a loan deal. Therefore, if they want to sign Jota, it would have to be permanently.

And while he would be cheaper than Neves, signing a winger is less pressing for Eddie Howe.

Jota is certainly a talented player. He was outstanding during his two years with Celtic, and was even described as a ‘genius‘ by Ally McCoist. His numbers back up that claim, with Jota providing 54 goal contributions in 83 appearances in all competitions.

He would add even more quality to Newcastle’s attack, which we do need right now given the injuries to Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy.

While he could prove to be a positive signing, Newcastle will be more focussed on getting a centre-midfielder, a striker and possibly a centre-back when January arrives.

Jota is probably a luxury they simply can’t afford at this moment in time.