Former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie firmly believes that Jota will seal a permanent move to Parkhead this summer.

The Lowdown: Jota impresses on loan

The 23-year-old left Benfica for Parkhead last summer, joining on loan as he sought regular playing time in Scotland.

Jota got exactly that, standing out as one of the Hoops' best attacking players, scoring seven goals and registering eight assists from 24 appearances in the Premiership.

The Portuguese maestro has constantly been linked with a permanent move to Parkhead but an agreement still hasn't been reached, which is worrying. However, as reported by the Daily Record recently, Celtic are in talks with Jota over personal terms as they aim to secure his signature outright.

The Latest: Permanent move predicted

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie iterated his firm belief that Celtic will get their wish and soon make Jota a permanent Hoops player. The 62-year-old said:

"Jota looks as if he is signing. Just from what has been said in the papers but it looks like that one will get done.

"He’s not on bad wages for a Scottish club, not bad at all. He played really well last year. Sometimes he would shy away and you can’t do that. But for the majority of the time, when he was on it, Celtic were on it.

"He was the catalyst for a lot of good performances last season and he will only get better if he has a full pre-season with Ange. I’ll be delighted if we get him over the line."

The Verdict: Matter of time?

While there may be concerns that Jota could be snapped up by another club this summer, it does still seem likely that he will become a Celtic player outright in the coming weeks.

It would be a move which suits all parties, with Benfica willing to sell him, Ange Postecoglou keen to have him and the player himself flourishing in a Hoops shirt and wanting to remain in Glasgow.

If Celtic can sign Jota for good, it would arguably feel more important than any new player coming in, with the winger potentially being a key figure at Parkhead for many years to come, providing trickery out wide and delivering consistent end product.

In other news, Celtic are reportedly 'in the market' for one type of player this summer. Read more here