Jota’rejects’ Steven Gerrard, the Celtic icon choosing to take a risk with a mega-money transfer. West Ham obstacle

Jota, who is in high demand, has rejected Steven Gerrard’s attempt to put an end to his ordeal at Al-Ittihad and is hoping that an English Premier League side would come to his aid this month.

Having left Celtic in a sensational £25 million deal last summer, he has had a terrible season in the Saudi Pro League. Only weeks after moving from the Scottish Premiership to the Middle East, former manager Nuno Espirito Santo excluded the 24-year-old from the league’s foreign player list. Since then, he has been relegated to the squad’s periphery, with infrequent appearances in friendly matches and the Asian Champions League.

The Portuguese winger appears to be happy to depart this month, and a loan move seems to be the most likely scenario under new manager Marcelo Gallardo. The Saudi Public Investment Fund owns both Ettifaq and Ittihad, which would have seemed to provide Jota with an easy way out. Nevertheless, the Benfica academy graduate turned down a request from former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard to play in Dammam with former Celtic players like Moussa Dembele and Jack Hendry, according to several publications in Saudi Arabia.

It follows strong rumors that West Ham is interested in signing the wide player on loan. In addition, Koora lists Tottenham and Wolves as interested parties in a transaction.

However, it looks that the way the teams would split the pay could be a problem. According to reports, Al-Ittihad is pressuring clubs to pick up Jota’s entire £200k weekly salary, which is believed to have cooled interest. That might mean the former Parkhead Treble champion spends an additional six months in Saudi Arabia.