Portugal has never faced a shortage of top talents as the nation has seen numerous stars of the game being produced across generations. From big names such as Eusebio and Rui Costa of the past to Ronaldo, the Iberian nation has a rich heritage of great players.
While there are experienced names alongside Ronaldo in the present time such as Bernardo Silva, Portugal also has a steady rise of talented youngsters who would continue the nation’s representation in the top leagues in Europe.
While France often takes the most credit for producing talented youngsters, Portugal too has recently matched the French with their efforts.
The likes of Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain) and Rafael Leao (AC Milan) all are promising candidates to fill the boots of Portugal’s great names of the past and they already play for some of the best clubs in Europe. However, even outside of the top 5 leagues, there are impressive talents ripping it apart in domestic leagues.
Perhaps one of the popular names known by Portuguese supporters would be Scottish club Celtic’s attacking midfielder Jota. Having been loaned out by his parent club Benfica to ensure more minutes, the 23-year-old has 9 goals and 10 assists for Celtic in all competitions this season. Out of this, 2 goals and 2 assists came in just 5 appearances for the Scottish club in the Europa League.
Jota’s sudden rise has many top clubs keeping tabs on the player who is looking to secure a transfer to Celtic as he evidently is having a ball in the Scottish league.
The Celtic man recently confirmed his intentions of remaining at the club next season as he was spotted in the team home kit while holidaying in New York. He also played a game of football with local football fans in the city and even took time to get a few pints of beer with his new American friends as revealed by a fan on Twitter.
From the images posted by one of the fans, Jota can be seen wearing the Celtic top even inside the bar they went to following the local football game.
Perhaps in many ways, this public show of affection for the club is the clearest indication from the Portuguese international to continue playing for Celtic.
With such a warm and fan-friendly attitude as displayed by the player in New York, Jota is guaranteed to be loved by the Celtic Park faithful should he choose to extend his stay in Scotland.
