Celtic have endured a difficult summer so far as they have had to deal with plenty of change, both in the dugout and throughout the playing squad.
Australian manager Ange Postecoglou left last month after two years at the helm and has been replaced by Brendan Rodgers, who is now in his second stint in Glasgow.
They have also been rocked by the retirement of midfielder Aaron Mooy and, most recently, the departure of Portuguese star Jota to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad.
The winger spent two seasons with the Hoops, one of which was on loan from Benfica, and has now moved on to join the likes of Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante in the Middle East.
Who could replace Jota at Celtic?
Rodgers will need to replace the 24-year-old magician ahead of the 2023/24 campaign and could already have the dream heir to his position in the squad in Israel international Liel Abada.
Football Insider reported earlier this summer that the Hoops are expecting the young forward to depart for £10m amid interest from the Premier League, as he has rejected the offer of a new contract in Glasgow.
However, Jota's departure could provide the exciting ace with the opportunity to become a regular starter for Celtic next season, something that could well tempt him into sticking around.
The ex-Benfica star was Postecoglou's outstanding wide option as he racked up 11 goals and 11 assists in 26 Scottish Premiership starts. Only Kyogo Furuhashi's goals (27) and Matt O'Riley's tally of 12 assists stopped the terrific dynamo from leading the charts for the club in both statistics, which highlights the immense influence he had in the team.
Abada, meanwhile, contributed with ten goals and five assists in 13 league starts for Celtic, whilst he also created ten 'big chances' for his teammates. This means that the 21-year-old was directly involved in a goal every 0.87 starts on average for the Glasgow giants.
Whereas, Jota averaged one every 1.18 starts in the division on average with this suggesting that the potential is there for the £10m-rated talent to be the dream replacement for the Al-Ittihad winger.
Former Scotland full-back Alan Hutton previously described the "revelation" as being "under the radar" because of Jota, something that is evidently backed up by the aforementioned statistics.
The £15k-per-week maestro has been incredibly productive in spite of being in the shadow of the Portuguese ace, so imagine what he could do as a regular starter for the Hoops next season under the Northern Irishman.
Rodgers must place his faith in Abada by making him the replacement for Jota instead of splashing out on a new player to take his place. A fresh addition in that area could also provide strong competition for places to spur the Israel international on to up his own game.
The £14.5m-rated speedster has the quality to score and assist goals week-in-week-out in the Scottish top flight, which is why he deserves an opportunity to stake a claim for a starring role next term.
