Trust Ange Postecoglou's instincts - Tottenham must avoid January swoop for this £25m flop at all costs

It's getting to that time of year again, when every fourth advert on television is an urgent plea reminding the callous and the dim alike that puppies and kittens are not just fluff-laden playthings but living, feeling little souls fully reliant on their owners for affection, sustenance, and every one of their other basic needs. A dog is for life, as they say, and so on and so forth.

This festive period, however, when you're idly channel-hopping and come across an appeal in support of something doe-eyed, mop-headed, and neglected, take a second glance, for it might not be a sad spaniel at all, but rather, Jota. You see, at the time of writing, the Portuguese winger is very much a footballing stray. Having completed a £25 million transfer from Celtic to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ittihad, the 24-year-old remains unregistered by his new club, and as such has been left stranded in a state of Middle Eastern limbo for the past few months.

With just 383 minutes under his belt this season, there is a growing expectation that he will be granted an exit during the January transfer window, and early speculation suggests that may end up in the Premier League. In particular a reunion with former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham has been touted, but according to The Sun, the Australian is hesitant over the prospect of a deal.

It is suggested that Postecoglou is unsure about Jota's suitability for the English top flight, which could be bad news for the likes of Wolves, who are also said to be keeping close tabs on the attacker. After all, if the man who knows him better than most is having doubts, then perhaps his other potential suitors should reconsider their interest too.

On the face of it, at least, a swoop for Jota would make perfect sense if Spurs were to enact one in the coming weeks. This is a player who is readily available, who scored 21 times in 62 outings for Postecoglou during their shared stint in Glasgow, and who would go a long way towards easing an injury crisis that has wiped out, among others, Richarlison, Manor Solomon, and Ivan Perisic in recent months. And yet there is still dithering.

That's not to say that Postecoglou won't eventually sanction a raid for his former charge, but the fact that he isn't chomping at the bit to do so is a cause for minor concern. Perhaps Ange is wary of parachuting in a player who has barely kicked a ball in anger since the end of last season. Perhaps he is reluctant to reimburse Al-Ittihad the £25 million or so that they would surely demand for a talent they only signed in July.

Or, perhaps, the affable Aussie simply does not believe that Jota is good enough to perform to a necessary standard in the upper echelons of the Premier League. To cut it in Scotland or the Middle East is one thing, but to replicate that kind of output in the self-proclaimed best division in the world is quite another.

Whatever the reason, if this latest report is to be believed, Postecoglou evidently has his suspicions, and if that, more than anything else, should be enough to convince Tottenham that they need to look at alternative targets.