Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has discussed his decision to drop Nicolas Kuhn for Jota against Dundee at Celtic Park last night in the Hoops’ 6-0 win.
It was a decision that may have come as a surprise to some, but given Jota’s stoppage-time goal against Motherwell on Sunday at Fir Park, the superstar from Portugal’s impact off the bench against the Well left Rodgers with no choice.
With Kuhn having played so much football so far this season and Jota far from fully fit, it was a chance to build up fitness and attempt to get as close to his best match-winning best that he left Celtic with in the summer of 2022.
Rodgers’ decision ultimately paid off, with Jota picking up an assist and Kuhn scoring off the bench against Tony Docherty’s side, with the Irishman revealing why he made the call to name Jota in the starting XI.
Rodgers said: (BBC Radio Scotland), “He (Jota) made a nice little introduction at the weekend. He’s got a chance to start tonight to build up his football fitness, and we’ll look to develop that over the coming months.”
With Daizen Maeda set to miss Bayern Munich in the Champions League at Celtic Park on Wednesday through suspension, that has undoubtedly sped up the process to get Jota fully fit to face Vincent Kompany’s side.
Despite a stop-start 18 months, Jota is still as effective as ever on the pitch, even if he apparently lacks match sharpness.
It’s a great battle to have currently, with Maeda, Jota, and Kuhn all battling for two spots in the team, with each at times unplayable. Form and injuries are always factors in who starts, and it’s an area of the team that Celtic are stronger in coming out of the winter transfer window, unlike the striker position.
Remember Kyogo left in an attempt to get into the Japan team.
The player whose place he is trying to take is Maeda and we play him as a winger.
We’ve already seen the change that when Idah goes off then, if Kenny doesn’t come on, Maeda goes through the middle.