Chris Sutton has urged his former club Celtic to make Jota's loan move from Benfica permanent next summer.

The 22-year-old joined the Hoops on a season-long loan deal in September and has enjoyed a bright start at Parkhead, scoring three goals and providing four assists in 10 appearances across all competitions.

Celtic are believed to have first refusal on the winger next summer for a figure in the region of £6.5m, and Sutton believes that his potential signing could turn out to be a bargain for the Glasgow giants.

"The Celtic board need to trust [Ange Postecoglou] – and that means backing him when January comes and beyond. It also means getting ready to get the cheque book out next summer to secure Jota on a permanent deal," Sutton wrote in his column for the Daily Record.

"I don't know the ins and outs of his contract situation at Benfica, but if it's right about Celtic having first dibs on the winger for £6.5m, then they should be ring fencing the dosh right now.

"Jota is only in the door five minutes, but we've already seen enough to suggest he is more than decent and you suspect there is even more to come. £6.5m is a lot of money to Celtic. It's not a sum they've stumped up too often over the years."

Jota played for 85 minutes in Celtic's 2-0 victory against St Johnstone on Saturday, which has moved them one points behind the Scottish Premiership's top three – Hearts, Rangers and Dundee United. body check tags ::