With Jota completing his transfer to Al Ittihad the last news that Celtic fans want to hear about is interest in another winger.
Since the turn of the year there has been regular speculation about Liel Abada being on the move with his regular substitute berth seeming to point in that direction.
Tonight, Lyall Thomas, editor of Sky Sports News, has put some substance to those claims by announcing interest from Sporting Lisbon.
#SportingCP are interested in #Celtic winger Liel Abada. They’ll consider him especially if they lose Marcus Edwards this summer. Ajax also still very interested. 21yo has 28 goals and 20 assists for Celtic. https://t.co/OzHTtF6aQx pic.twitter.com/Pzxu6yqkXJ
— Lyall Thomas (@SkySportsLyall) July 3, 2023
Abada was Ange Postecoglou’s first significant signing with the young Israeli making an instant impact, scoring on his home debut against Midtjylland in a Champions League qualifier.
Celtic may have been preparing for Abada to move on but Jota’s sudden move to Al Ittihad could have an impact on interest from Sporting.
Losing two of the three first choice wingers would leave a big hole in the first team squad with Sead Haksabanovic yet to demonstrate the consistency and end product of Abada or Jota.
Having four or five available wingers was critical to the way that Ange Postecoglou had Celtic playing, Brendan Rodgers is likely to alter that slightly but going into the pre-season matches without Jota and Abada would be a big challenge to the new manager as he looks to make an impression on the squad he takes on.