Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic to replace Liel Abada with 7-goal striker – Sources
Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic to replace Liel Abada with 7-goal striker – Sources
Celtic’s January transfer market closed at the beginning of the month, but they have continued to sell players to other continents.
representing a significant profit over the £3.5 million the club paid to sign him under Ange Postecoglou in the summer of 2021.
The Israel international has not been playing regularly for the Hoops owing to the ‘ongoing turmoil in the Middle East’,
which manager Brendan Rodgers attributed to the player’s personal concerns that limited his involvement on the pitch.
Celtic’s decision to part ways with him outside of a transfer window means they will be unable to sign a replacement from another club.
However, current B team star Corey Thomson could emerge as an unexpected substitute for the 22-year-old genius.
Liel Abada’s Celtic career statistics
The right-sided forward left Parkhead after making 112 appearances for the Scottish giants in all competitions,
scoring 29 goals and providing 22 assists.
Throughout his tenure in Glasgow, Abada demonstrated his ability to score and create goals,
averaging a direct goal contribution per 2.20 matches.
| 22/23 Premiership | Liel Abada |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 34 |
| Starts | 13 |
| Goals | 10 |
| Assists | 5 |
| Big chances created | 10 |
| Stats via Sofascore | |
As shown in the table above, the electrifying forward stood out under Postecoglou’s supervision in the Scottish Premiership last season,
scoring 15 goals and providing 15 assists despite only starting 13 league games.
He made a significant effect as a goal scorer, with one strike every 3.4 Premier League appearances on average,
and Rodgers might replace that goal threat by bringing Thomson into the first squad.
Corey Thomson’s B-team statistics
Despite only turning 18 in December of last year, the talented youngster has been a regular for Celtic B in the Lowland League for the past two seasons.
During the 2022/23 season, the teenage marksman scored six goals and had zero assists in 25 league games for the youthful Hoops, averaging one strike per 4.1 outings.
He also finished the season with a magnificent goal against Rangers in the Scottish Youth Cup,
as shown in the video below, in which Thomson cut inside and hammered the ball into the bottom corner.
The Scotland U18 international has improved his goal-scoring performance in the Lowland League this season,
with seven goals and one assist in 20 games.
Thomson has scored once every 2.9 league games for Celtic B this season,
which is more than Abada did in the Premiership under Postecoglou last season.
The Livingston-born youngster, who can play on either side or through the middle as an offensive midfielder,
has demonstrated his ability to score regularly from a wide position over the last two seasons.
It is now up to Rodgers to offer the seven-goal academy dynamo a chance to prove that he has the maturity and quality to make the move up to first-team level and emerge as a surprise successor for Abada from the youth set-up,
rather than delving into the market in the summer to bring in a multi-million-pound heir.
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