Chris Sutton backs Liel Abada to rediscover the form he showed early into his Celtic career after a summer transfer from Maccabi Petah Tikva, in his column for the Daily Record.
The Hoops dipped into the Israeli Premier League to poach one of HaLuzonim’s homegrown talents for £3.5m in July.
Celtic edged competition from Belgian and French outfits, plus Greek giants Olympiacos, per The Scottish Sun. As boss Ange Postecoglou moved quick to snap up a versatile winger.
Abada had never played outside his native Israel before joining Celtic, and only made his senior international debut a month before against Montenegro.
But the 20-year-old burst out of the gates at Parkhead with a goal against Midtjylland on debut. A strike he followed with two assists against Dundee and a brace against St Mirren.
Abada added further goals against Dundee United, Raith Rovers and Jablonec, plus assists against Ross County and AZ Alkmaar. But Sutton notes his performances took a dip before Postecoglou elected to bench the forward for the first time in the Premiership last month.
However, Sutton feels Postecoglou was right to take Abada out of the Celtic line-up. And the three-cap forward showed the ideal response with a goal and an assist at Ferencvaros.
“Abada had gone off the boil in recent weeks, but he was bound to dip after such an explosive start,” Sutton wrote.
“It was good management to take him out of the firing line for a few matches, he looked energised the other night.
“You have got to remember he’s still only 20, and there’s more to come.”
Should Postecoglou start Abada when Celtic face Dundee on Sunday?
Abada had a quiet afternoon against Aberdeen at the start of October as Celtic snatched a 2-1 win. He threatened to show his explosive potential, but never quite found the spark.
It was a similar story against Motherwell the game after, as he faded into the background after some promising flashes. Enough to convince Postecoglou to take him out of the side.
His return to the line-up against Livingston last Saturday also lasted less than an hour. The £15k-a-week winger rarely impacted proceedings after the break, despite a solid first-half.
Postecoglou will feel Abada vindicated his treatment of the winger through October with his performance as Celtic beat Ferencvaros. The Israel international back to his scintillating best, making a mockery of his marker and putting in a case to start at Dundee on Sunday.
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