Abada And Others Who Might Want To Leave Celtic Should Consider The Bigger Picture.

If Liel Abada’s agent is paying attention at all, he will have noticed something rather unusual.

His player is being sought by an English club who right now are battling relegation. He should ponder that carefully, and whilst he’s at it he should look to France at Moussa Dembele. And at London, and to Crystal Palace where Edouard flounders.

Players are so stupid these days, and some of their agents even more so.

Is short-term greed the only thing that motivates some of them? Abada is only just in his 20’s, all the money in the world will be waiting for if he believes in his own ability.

But this is a guy who hasn’t made a starting place at Celtic his own yet. He might well go to England and slot right into a team somewhere, but Ange has warned him and every player in the squad about that.

It’s not a given, and even if it is … swapping Southampton for Celtic? Even if they stay in the league in this campaign, there’s a good chance they’ll be right back where they are now next season, scrapping in the bottom half of the division.

I love Liel Abada. He’s a sublime talent, a player with a massive future in the game. If he gets the big decisions right early, which means right now. Ange has publicly said that he has all the skill in the world but that there are other aspects of his game that he needs to work on … that’s a fact, and that he’s in and out of this team should be a warning to him.

A player who isn’t a regular starter for us isn’t going to walk into any team down there.

The money will be good sure, or at least the first contract will be.

But this is the short-sightedness I’m talking about; moving to a relegation battler where you still might not be a first pick might bring greater financial rewards than staying at Parkhead, winning trophies and playing in the Champions League for another couple of years … but it might be a backward step just the same.

Look at Giakoumakis. If he had signed a new deal, demonstrating his commitment to our club and dug in and played well would he have got a move somewhere better than the MLS?

If he focussed on being an ever-present in this Celtic team, if he played another season here and gave Champions League football a right good go, he could write his own ticket. Biggers clubs than Southampton would be looking at him and making us offers.

I don’t have the least doubt that Celtic will sell him in the summer if he’s got his heart set on going, because Ange wants a happy camp and he will not accept any situation where a player isn’t giving him 100% commitment to the cause … Celtic will make a pile of money and go out and sign a replacement and not look back.

It’s Abada himself who might do that, who may not realise what he had until it’s gone, who might find out too late that he should have thought beyond the immediate horizon.