Celtic’s European campaign is on the cusp of coming to an end, but what an adventure it has been.
The Bhoys reached the Champions League knockout phase for the first time in 12 years, collecting 12 points and remaining unbeaten at home, most memorably beating RB Leipzig 3-1 at Parkhead in early November.
However, the first knockout round looks set to be a bridge too far, beaten 2-1 by Bayern Munich in Glasgow on Wednesday night, although Daizen Maeda’s late header does give them a slither of hope heading to Bavaria on Tuesday.
Domestically, Brendan Rodgers’ side sit 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, on course for yet another treble, having already hoisted aloft the League Cup, but just imagine how good this team would be if they hadn’t lost their most highly-rated academy graduate.
Jota's return to Celtic
To much excitement, Jota returned to Celtic in the January transfer window, returning from Stade Rennais for a reported £8.5m, 18 months after departing for a Saudi Pro League for a joint-club-record fee of £25m.
The Portuguese winger marked his second debut in hoops with a goal against Motherwell at Fir Park, after which he actually burst into tears, so delighted to be back in Glasgow having endured, as he put it, countless “difficult moments” since departing.
Speaking on TNT Sports prior to Wednesday’s clash with Bayern, Rodgers admitted that Jota “is not quite at the physical level yet” to start as he looks to rebuild his fitness, hence why he’s largely been reduced to cameos off the bench so far.
As noted by Josh McCafferty of the Herald, Jota was “delighted” to be back at Celtic Park, starting as the Hoops smashed Dundee 6-0 last mid-week.
However, despite being widely known as a “superstar”, the returning hero faces some serious competition to get into this team on a regular basis.
Maeda, who currently occupies Jota’s preferred position on the left, has scored 11 goals since Boxing Day, with right-back Alistair Johnston describing him as “one of the most in-form players in Europe”.
The Japanese forward nodded home from close range on Wednesday, thereby becoming the first Celtic player since Joe Craig in 1977/78 to score four or more goals in a single European Cup campaign; Mo Johnston, Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton, Kenny Miller, Georgios Samaras and Moussa Dembélé all reached three.
Having said all of that, as much as the Celtic support love both Maeda and Jota, as well as Nicolas Kühn too, they may have let the best winger of the lot slip through their fingers.
Celtic lost Scotland's next great superstar
Ben Doak did not spend much of his youth career at Celtic, but his introduction to senior football did come bedecked in hoops, debuting as a late substitute during a must-win match against Dundee United in January 2022, before also coming off the bench for Ange Postecoglou’s team during a famous Old Firm victory three days later.
However, this did not convince the teenager to sign professional terms with Celtic, departing for Liverpool for just £600k in compensation soon after.
During his first two seasons on Merseyside, Doak saw first-team opportunities limited, making only ten appearances, but has exploded onto the scene since joining Middlesbrough on loan last summer.
Still only 19 years old, he has scored three goals and provided seven assists in the EFL Championship for Boro, while Jota, meanwhile, boasts just two goals and two assists across his time at Rennes and Celtic in 2024/25. There’s a reason why journalist Henry Winter has lauded him as a “huge prospect”.
This may not sound amazing, but let’s have a deeper look at his season stats.
Statistics
Doak’s tally
Championship rank
Goals
3
84th
Goals – xG
+0.45
30th
Assists
7
5th
Expected assists per 90
0.23
17th
Shot-creating action
82
18th
Goal-creating actions
11
13th
Progressive carries
134
3rd
Shots on target %
51.9%
10th
Passes into the penalty area
37
12th
As the table shows, Doak is a high-level dribbler and excellent chance-creator, and his performances on Teesside have certainly caught wider attention, with Don Smith of the Evening Standard reporting that Liverpool rejected a £15m bid from Crystal Palace for his services in January.
Meantime, he’s also made his senior international debut in recent months, trusted by Steve Clark to start all four of Scotland’s UEFA Nations League matches in October and November, repaying the manager by setting up John McGinn’s last-gasp winner against Croatia at Hampden, that helped save the Tartan Army from relegation.
That night, as noted by Gregg Evans of the Athletic, he gave the world’s most-expensive defender of all-time Joško Gvardiol nightmares, with Ewan Murray of the Guardian adding that the Man City man left Hampden ‘bamboozled’ by Doak’s ‘searing pace’.
Martin Watt of BBC Sport labels him a ‘wonderkid’, while Sam Blitz of Sky Sports hails him as Scotland’s ‘new superstar’, hence why Celtic supporters must be wondering what could’ve been had Doak chosen to stay.
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