Liel Abada is one player who seemed to really benefit from the winter break. In recent weeks any debates over the Israeli winger’s potential or abilities all end up landing on the same conclusion, Celtic have won a watch with the youngster the Hoops signed from Maccabi Petah Tivka in the summer.
Whether it was the late winner against Dundee United, the third goal in the Glasgow Derby or Sunday’s strike against Motherwell, Liel Abada has been timing his runs and his finishing to perfection as Celtic have raced to the top of the Scottish Premiership, leapfrogging theRangers in the process.
Abada coming in at the back post pic.twitter.com/odzU3IaN6O
— Rabbit Slippers (@HoopyDays1967) February 6, 2022
One man who is far from surprised by the form of Abada on the Wing is former coach Guy Luzon who has been speaking to Scottish Sun about the winger’s inherent timing in the box and a sense of anticipation to opportunities arising that Liel Abada has evidenced prior to signing on at Celtic.
“Liel’s form isn’t surprising to me at all. I knew he would be good at Celtic. I knew the qualities he would provide for scoring goals. He is able to smell the situation and anticipate when the ball comes in. He is one of the best at that.
“No matter who is the manager, no matter what the system, Liel will always do the same. He will not be the winger who always holds the line. When the ball goes down the left he will be in the box and he will be like a striker, scoring lots of goals. It’s not because of the system or the manager.
“At my team he did the same. It is the reason why he scores a lot of goals. He will anticipate exactly where the ball will be and when the ball reaches his feet you can be sure it will end up in the back of the net. His finishing is unbelievable.
“We always encouraged him to be like that. In our team when we had the ball and we were attacking, it was the usual case Liel would finish the move off.”
Liel Abada of course fits Celtic’s ideal business model for player trading and with rumoured interest from Crystal Palace already having been rebuffed by Celtic it is inevitable on current form Abada will have his admirers.
Although his former coach believes a move to an English Premier League club will happen, Abada would surely be better off playing for Celtic, performing in Europe and looking to move to a top four EPL side rather than make a move to a smaller team like Palace.
“If tomorrow he was to play in another team he would be the same. With all his skills and all his quality he would still be there in the box. Celtic is a top level club to play with. It’s not a bad decision to stay at Celtic. But I’m sure if some Premier League club brought a good offer to Celtic they wouldn’t stop him developing and becoming better.
“I really believe because of his mentality and his quality he can play in the Premier League. I’m sure if he continues then the next step for him will be a move to an average club in the Premier League and from there it depends on him and the club. But when he gets to that level and the ball is down the left side he will be in the box. He will know how to score the goals.”
You can understand his former coach’s mindset, having no doubt seen Odsonne Edouard’s move to Crystal Palace and thinking a smaller English club could then be the stepping stone to a Top Four club. But in Edouard’s case Celtic could have shifted the player to Leicester but decided to keep him for one last season. In that period Edouard’s from dropped off a cliff, yet had he stayed on top form there would have been far better options for the player than Crystal Palace.
For Abada, his focus should be on Celtic, lifting a league title, performing well in the Europa Conference League and remaining at the club for the shop window of the Champions League. If Liel Abada performs on all those stages, then in a couple of years he will be looking at a direct move from Celtic to a top English, Spanish, German or Italian team, without the need of an average English club to stop off at and both Celtic and the player maximise their true value.
We all realise not every player can have their ambitions matched by staying at Celtic for their entire careers, but prove yourself at Celtic and the gateway to the top clubs in the top leagues should be the aim, after all you don’t get Champions League football to showcase your talents at mid-table EPL teams, and what better stage to show your value?
Niall J
