NEW Bhoy Liel Abada is hoping for a quickfire Celtic debut against Preston this evening.
The 19-year-old Israeli winger, who arrived in a £3.5million switch from Maccabi Petah Tikva in midweek, has told Ange Postecoglou he is desperate to get into action as swiftly as possible.
And Abada, who only met his Hoops team-mates at training at Lennoxtown yesterday, has targeted the Champions League second round qualifier against FC Midtjylland in front of 9,000 fans at Parkhead to show the qualities that brought him 12 league goals last season.
The teen ace said: “I am always ready to play and if the coach asks me to play on Tuesday I will be happy.
HIGH HOOPS…Liel Abada hopes to hit the ground running.
“It is no problem. I will always try to give the maximum I can for the team.
“It is a dream to play in the Champions League. This is something I have aimed for since I first kicked a ball aged five.
“For me, to arrive at this moment with Celtic is a dream.
“I always want to do the best I can for the team and I believe we can do nice things this year.
“I have watched a lot of Celtic games in the past and last season. I know their status in Scotland and Europe. I am very excited.”
Abada believes he will fit into Postecoglou’s ambitious plans for the club following last season’s miserable campaign.
The electrifying raider continued: “I am happy that the manager wants players to attack.
“I always want to do that. It is my game, I want to score and create good situations. I believe we can do some really exciting things this season.
“I care a lot about helping Celtic to get success and the target is to win the Scottish title. That is my goal. To become a champion with Celtic would be a dream.”
Abada saw a move to Russian giants Dinamo Kiev collapse in January, so he kept his switch to the Hoops hush-hush until the formalities had been taken care of and the ink was dry on a five-year deal.
SHOOTING STAR…Liel Abada celebrates a strike for his ex-club Maccabi Petah Tikva.
The youngster, speaking to the Scottish Sun, added: “After that experience with Kiev, when the transfer didn’t happen, I preferred not to make too much noise.
“In Israel, almost nobody knew about my discussions with Celtic until just before I signed. I know that many players have come from Israel to Celtic in recent years, but I didn’t speak to them initially.
“With a transfer as big as this, I had to keep things very discreet. I probably heard about Celtic’s interest around 10 days ago. I immediately was very excited to be told that such a big club wanted me.
“Celtic are a massive name with so many fans and I didn’t think twice about the opportunity.
“I immediately took the decision that I wanted to join Celtic and everything moved from there.
“After I agreed everything then, of course, I spoke to Nir Bitton and Beram Kayal. Nir helped me a lot and gave me so much advice. Beram was also great with me.
“But since coming here I have spoken to a lot of people and had great information.
“I am so happy to be at Celtic. I’m the happiest man in the world.”
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