LIEL ABADA could be making a Celtic exit in the summer, with the club open to moving the player on if the right deal is submitted.
Premier League strugglers Southampton are interested in the young talent and could submit a bid of £10, but the chances of Abada going to the Saints are slim, especially with relegation likely this season.
It looks inevitable that he will depart Celtic sooner rather than later, with the player even switching agents to help engineer a move for him.
Celtic will be making a profit on the player, it seems. The money will be reinvested in the squad, and as Ange Postecoglou has demonstrated, it will be used to bring someone of the same or better quality into the squad. Oh and Johnston have been good additions to the squad, and despite it being early days, you could make an argument that they’ve made an improvement to the team. To make about £6 million in two years is decent from Celtic.
Abada’s numbers at Celtic are tremendous; there is no getting away from that. The majority of them have come from the bench, and it’s clear to see Ange Postecoglou rates his impact as a sub very highly. But, there’s more behind the stats. When he’s started, especially lately, he’s been extremely poor.
Despite his directness, he isn’t too good on the ball. He’s too erratic, and his decision-making isn’t at the level it should be at to start for Celtic, showing it in the mid-week fixture against Hearts in what was probably his worst performance in a Celtic jersey.
He lacks composure in-front of goal, often missing chances of failing to complete a sweet cross across the goal to set up a teammate.
He is an empty jersey, more than not, often going missing in big games. He is still young and does have bags of potential. Although, saying that, he has scored a few big goals for Celtic.
Abada’s clearly an extremely rough diamond and needs to improve a lot if he’s to fulfil his dream of making it in the Premier League.
One thing we’ve learned over the past few years is that we shouldn’t be holding onto players who are actively wanting out, and Ange has warned that he’ll be ruthless in the transfer market.
Abada would be a miss in the squad, but not as big as people are making out, especially when Haksabanovic is fit and firing.
