The grass isn't always greener away from Parkhead, just ask those who have left Celtic for marquee fees in recent years.

A year on from leaving for Italy for a fee of around £16.5m, the word is that Nicolas Kuhn is already surplus to requirements at Como, while Kyogo Furuhashi has scored just three goals in 18 months for Rennes and Birmingham City following his £10m sale.

As for Matt O'Riley, the Denmark international was shipped out on loan to Marseille last season from parent club Brighton, while fellow £25m man Kieran Tierney made his return last summer after an injury-hit time at Arsenal.

And then there's Jota, with the Portuguese also finding his way back to Glasgow after difficult spells in both Saudi Arabia and France. Sadly, however, it hasn't been a happy homecoming.

What O'Neill has said about Jota's fitness woes

Jota, signed initially on loan in the summer of 2021, was such a delight to watch in his first Celtic spell, a real box of tricks on either flank, so influential in Ange Postecoglou's relentless Hoops side.

Frustratingly, that dazzling quality just hasn't been seen since his return in January 2025, even with the ex-Benfica man scoring five times in the tail end of that season.

Subsequently knocked back after suffering a cruciate ligament injury just a matter of months on from his Parkhead return, Jota's situation certainly isn't promising, having already missed the entirety of 2025/26.

A forgotten man somewhat, the winger's return to action feels like a long way off right now, not least after Martin O'Neill's rather blunt assessment of the situation this week.

Out of sight, out of mind, appears to be O'Neill's approach with regard to the 27-year-old, with the priority now to ensure that the forward line is strengthened with statement moves this summer.

Celtic lining up contract offer to sign the next Jota at Parkhead

After a muted start to the window, things are clicking into gear in Glasgow, with Camilo Duran already in the building, while O'Neill is keen on a return for cult hero, Kelechi Iheanacho.

It does appear that the 74-year-old is particularly intent on securing attacking reinforcements, amid the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Daizen Maeda's future at Paradise.

With that in mind, there has been an encouraging update from Spanish journalist Christian Vaquero, the transfer insider revealing on X that Celtic remain in talks with Haissem Hassan regarding a potential four-year deal for the Egyptian.

The suggestion is that O'Neill and co are preparing a bid of around €8m (£7m) for the Real Oviedo star, and while the Spanish side are insisting on something closer to €12m (£10m), they are willing to negotiate.

It will seemingly take a sizeable fee for Celtic to get the 24-year-old in the door, yet Hassan looks like a real superstar in the making, having sparkled in his World Cup cameos in recent weeks.

Against Argentina, for instance, the in-demand winger was electric as the North African nation cruelly fell to a 3-2 defeat, notably supplying the assist for Zico to make it 2-0 on the night.

That had come after Hassan had previously played a key role in Zico's controversially disallowed strike, the left-footer weaving his way through a sea of Argentine defenders down the right flank, in the lead-up to his teammate's effort.

That innate blend of pace and trickery certainly evokes memories of Jota in his Celtic pomp, the type of player who can beat a man at will with a moment of magic or skill.

In LaLiga last season for Oviedo, Hassan notably averaged a stellar 1.6 successful dribbles per game for the relegated side, having been a real shining light in his favoured right-wing berth.

For comparison, across 2021/22 and 2022/23, Jota enjoyed a similar average of 1.7 and 1.5, respectively, under Postecoglou's watch, the Portuguese having been the real game-changer at his best.

The Glasgow giants had gambled somewhat on Jota at the time, considering he'd only made 34 appearances for Benfica and 18 on loan at Real Valladolid, scoring only four goals in total.

By 2023, he was being sold on for a club-record fee, the perfect example of what Celtic's recruitment should look like.

In Hassan's case, his own exploits aren't exactly stellar on paper, with just six goals and four assists in 82 games at Oviedo, after prior stints elsewhere in Spain, yet scratch beneath the surface, and there looks like a player just waiting to explode.

Hopefully, like Jota before him, that rise will take place at Parkhead.