Celtic plan to complete an impressive £9million deal to re-sign Portuguese winger Jota over the weekend.
And they will suspend the £10m sale of Kyogo Furuhashi to French club Rennes until a deal is agreed with Jota. The Japanese striker was pictured today boarding a private jet at Glasgow Airport before landing on French soil.
Rennes' Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli confirmed the move, saying: “We hope, first of all, that the deal will be closed today.” If that's the case, he (Furuhashi) could maybe play a few minutes (in Monaco on Saturday).
“He is a player that we really wanted. We expect a lot from him because he is a player who can help us a lot and, in particular, provide us with depth.”
Plans for Jota to fly to Glasgow in the next 24 hours have been delayed by Storm Eowyn.
The 25-year-old left Celtic 18 months ago for a £25m deal in Saudi Arabia but, after a difficult spell, moved to Rennes last summer for a fee of around £10m.
Winger Jota looks set for a shock return to Celtic, 18 months after leaving for Saudi Arabia
Kyogo Furuhashi took a private flight to France, where he is expected to sign for Rennes
A Parkhead target last summer, the former Benfica player was initially reluctant to return to Parkhead.
However, the French club's signing of Furuhashi opened a window of opportunity for Celtic to try again and, provided negotiations reach a satisfactory conclusion, both deals are likely to go ahead.
Furuhashi's departure will see Celtic renew their interest in Brondby forward Mathias Kvistgaarden, the 22-year-old Dane who manager Brendan Rodgers has been monitoring for some time.
With 38 goals in 109 appearances for Brondby, Kvistgaarden has attracted interest from across Europe and Celtic could face competition from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Bundesliga side are looking for a replacement for Omar Marmoush, the Egyptian striker who signed for Manchester City for almost £60m this week.
Kvistgaarden, who has 12 goals in 18 games in all competitions this season, is believed to want to move abroad.
Keen to ensure they get the best price for the former Danish Under-21 international, Brondby could hold out for a fee of around £10m including add-ons.
Brondby striker Mathias Kvistgaarden is Celtic target as he prepares for life after Kyogo
Rodgers stressed earlier this month that Celtic would be ready to move quickly in the transfer market should any of their stars leave.
Meanwhile, Celtic captain Callum McGregor has challenged the team to cause an upset against Aston Villa next week.
This week's victory over Young Boys has already guaranteed them a place in the round of 16, probably a place in the play-off round.
But, if they were to win at Villa Park, they could still exceed all expectations and go straight to the round of 16.
Insisting that a top eight place may even be possible, McGregor said: “Absolutely, we want to finish strong.”
“So far it's been fantastic. Let's finish strong and see what we can do.” We are looking at the table. There is a slim chance of qualifying in the top eight.
“This should also be a big incentive for us if we can miss those two (play-off) games. The team feels good and we are really looking forward to the game.
'We have one more game. Let's see if we can raise the table even more.”