Giakoumakis urges Jota to commit to Celtic | OneFootball

Giorgos Giakoumakis has revealed he told Jota to sign a permanent deal with Celtic once his loan expires this summer.

Jota, who is still owned by his parent club Benfica, featured 29 times for the Scottish champions, scoring 10 times and Greek striker Giakoumakis is keen to keep the Portuguese forward around.

“When we were out on the pitch celebrating I said: ‘I wish you to stay here because we really need you’,” said 27-year-old forward.

Despite having a season marked with injuries Giakoumakis finished the campaign strongly and admitted Ange Postecoglou was a big reason behind his signing in Glasgow.

“We had a chat and straight away he convinced me that I had to come here,” explained the Greek forward.

“He was right – I did have to come here. When I was injured I was putting some pressure on myself because I had not yet proved myself here.

“He just said to me that I needed to stay calm, keep believing in myself and that whenever I came back I would be crucial for the team. In both those periods, he was crucial.”

Celtic bounced back from last year’s disappointment to win the Scottish Premiership, finishing four points ahead of rivals Rangers.