Liel Abada on his “wonderful” time in the Celtics and what made the spell difficult

Liel Abada is ready for a new adventure but that doesn’t mean he has forgotten the “amazing” time he had at Celtic.

The Israeli winger left his homeland aged 19 when the Hoops paid Maccabi Petah Tikva £3.5million for his services in 2021. He went on to be a roaring success for them, chipping in with a very healthy record of goals and assists from the wing and being named PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year for 2021/22.

Two league titles, two league cups and a Scottish Cup is a decent trophy haul too. Things weren’t as plain sailing towards the end of his stay though with the Celtic support’s backing of Palestine in their conflict with Israel making things awkward for him with people in his homeland questioning why he would continue to play for him.

Manager Brendan Rodgers explained Abada was not available for selection because his head was not in the right place amid the controversy and eventually Charlotte FC shelled out a record fee to take the 22-year-old to MLS.

He’s yet to appear for his new club but played for his country as they lost out to Iceland in a Euro 2024 play-off.

And before he flew back out to the States, he was quizzed by Israeli press on his move and also his time in Glasgow.

He told Sport 1: “It was really not easy being far away, but I had time with my family and friends now to see everyone. I had an amazing time at Celtic and now my head is on a new journey.

“I hope I can represent the country with respect. I had some time now with family and friends and now I’m embarking on a new journey.”

On life at Charlotte, Abada added: “The feelings are very good. I’m waiting to get there and meet everyone and start my journey.”

Ex-Celtic man backs former teammate as Rangers receive major injury boost

The ex-teammate of a Celtic player has backed him to have an impact upon his return from injury – meanwhile, Rangers have been handed a major boost.

Celtic’s kit sales with Adidas have given the club a place in the top 20 according to UEFA.

With their licencing powers there can be little doubt about the result which is contained in a substantial UEFA report titled The European Club Fiance and Investment Landscape for 2022.

As with most of these lists and tables clubs from the big five nations dominate with Barcelona edging Real Madrid into top spot followed by Bayern Munich and Liverpool.

UEFA acknowledges the dominance of their big five leagues with Celtic described as a traditionally well supported club alongside Ajax, Leeds United, Eintracht Frankfurt and Turkish sides Galatasaray and Fenerbahce. Winning the Europa League helped lift Eintracht into 19th place.

Celtic and Adidas have produced five kits this season with little sign of demand wavering, this is the fourth season of the five year kit deal.

The table puts Celtic in a strong negotiating position for their next kit deal, Adidas will be keen to retain that contract while other manufacturers will be well aware of the almost guaranteed sales.

Nike and Puma are the other manufacturers in the top 20 with the table listing Celtic’s kit deal as bringing in  €34m which equates to £29.1M.

Injury problems mount up for Rangers with 7 on the sidelines as Celtic title race heats up

Just as Celtic close in on getting their strongest players available and back on the pitch, injury problems are reportedly mounting up across the city.

As discussed this morning, Chris Sutton feels that Brendan Rodgers could soon get his best eleven back playing together ahead of a critical period in the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup.

Reo Hatate played a bounce game during the international break and Callum McGregor is expected to return quite quickly too.

With Cameron Carter-Vickers getting back to 100% and Kyogo again involved heavily, Celtic are have their trophy-winning core ready for the big push for silverware.

Celtic and Rangers title race heats up

In contrast, The Daily Record reports that Ridvan Yilmaz is the latest injury concern for Rangers after he limped out of Turkey’s defeat to Hungary with a thigh complaint.

The paper says that Yilmaz is one of seven on the sidelines including Abdallah Sima, Oscar Cortes, Ryan Jack, Kieran Dowell and Danilo – all of whom are said to likely miss their first match after the break at least.

Yilmaz has played 28 times for his clubs this season and is firmly part of Philippe Clement’s plans, so losing him would be another big blow for them.

The Ibrox side face Hibernian at home next week before hosting Celtic. The Bhoys, of course, travel to Livingston ahead of that massive derby in Govan.

If Celtic manage to win both matches – having already won in West Lothian and at Ibrox this season – they’ll be at least four points ahead before Rangers play their game in hand away to Dundee the following mid-week.

Rodgers getting his strongest players on the pitch with few injury problems could be a key factor in these closing weeks. Especially if rivals are flagging.

Alexandro Bernabei reveals the Celtic quality he ‘really lacked’ as one Parkhead factor catches attention

Former Celtic midfielder Peter Grant doesn’t think that Hoops striker Kyogo Furuhashi has ever dropped off amid recent claims that he is back to his best.

The frontman has two goals in his last two games, sparking many fans to believe that he has now returned to the dazzling form everyone knows he can hit.

Kyogo revealed on Monday morning that he isn’t afraid of failure amid his lack of inclusion in the recent Japan squad for the upcoming international break.

The fact that he had bagged just two goals in 2024 up until last weekend’s game against Livingston in the Scottish Cup contributed towards this and fairly led many to think he was not his usual self, but Grant disagrees.

He believes that the Japanese hitman is constantly lively and that a lack of service has been a key factor in his barren spell: “You were asking me earlier on about Kyogo being back, I don’t think he was away”, he said (Go Radio Football Show).

“If you put balls in the box, that guy will score goals.

“You have to service him, it’s ironic, the service he put in at the start of the second half was for Kuhn’s goal.

“The amount of times Kyogo is in that position for an early ball – that’s why I keep saying about putting the crosses in.

“It’s common sense for me. If you put the balls in, these guys have got the quality to finish and Kyogo proved that at the weekend.”

There has been a noticeable change in Celtic’s attacking play over the past few weeks. The Hoops look much more lively in forward areas, whipping balls into the box and registering several shots on goal.

Such trends must continue if silverware is to be secured come the end of May.