Dharmesh Sheth shares ‘extraordinary’ Jota exit stance as West Ham United want to sign Al Ittihad forward
Al Ittihad forward Jota wants to quit the club this month and West Ham are keeping tabs on his “extraordinary” situation in Saudi Arabia, according to Dharmesh Sheth.
The Sky Sports news reporter speaking to GiveMeSport (19 January) shared that the mega-rich Saudi outfit will be happy to allow him to leave this month and the former Celtic man would have to take a pay cut on £200,000 per-week contract should any West Ham move materialise.
Jota has endured a torrid time in Saudi Arabia following his departure from Celtic last summer for £25million and could look to engineer a move back to Europe before the 2024 winter transfer window closes.
Sheth, speaking to GiveMeSport said: “They are keeping an eye on Jota. His situation is extraordinary. He only joined Al-Ittihad in the summer of 2023 for £25m on a £200,000 per-week contract. But when the Saudi Pro League window closed, he was eliminated from the squad, and he’s not featured. So, he wants to go, and I think Al-Ittihad would be happy for him to leave as well, provided the deal is right.
“So, West Ham are just keeping an eye on that situation. They wouldn’t want to be paying those kinds of wages, though, so it would require Jota to be able to take a cut in those wages.”
Difficult risk
Jota has rarely played all season so any move back to Europe would present interested parties with a difficult risk, especially West Ham who are desperate for signings who could make a swift impact.
Should the Portuguese starlet make the move to East London this month, it’s uncertain what kind of player the Hammers will be getting as it’s been a long while since his terrific 11-goal 2022/23 campaign at Celtic under Ange Postecoglou.
It would probably take a whole season for Jota to hit those levels again should he make the move but his talent and potential and eagerness to correct his Saudi mistake still makes him an attractive proposition.
However, those £200k/wk wages are astronomical and the Hammers who are walking on thin ice with regards to how much money they can spend right now, certainly won’t be paying that kind of money.
Jota would need to take a sizeable pay cut if he was to join at London Stadium and the way his career trajectory is heading, he may have no option but to take such a hit to his wages.
What’s crucial for him, is that he desperately needs to be playing football right now but the question is whether West Ham are willing to take that giant risk.
In other West Ham news, Hammers to make brand new transfer official “in next few hours”.
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