Celtic winger Liel Abada misses ‘big brother’ Nir Bitton following summer move

Celtic winger Liel Abada admits he misses “big brother” Nir Bitton but the Israeli aims to continue his development this season without his mentor.

Abada’s transition to life in Scotland last season was made far smoother by the influence of his international team-mate, who left Glasgow after nine years in the summer to join Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The 20-year-old told Celtic TV: “Niro is like a big brother to me. I could speak with him about everything.

“He helped me a lot last season with everything and now we speak a lot also on FaceTime. I wish him and his family all the best. I really love him and I miss him.”

Abada made a huge impact in his first season in Scotland with 15 goals to help Celtic regain their Premiership crown, and he hopes to kick on further this season under the tutelage of manager Ange Postecoglou.

“The manager is so big for me because I can learn from him about football and he gave me all the confidence that I needed last season,” the wide player said.

“I always learn from training to training and game to game. Hopefully this season I will learn more and improve more. I learned from everyone a lot.”

Celtic face a tough trip to Dingwall on Saturday to face Ross County but Abada is also looking forward to the club’s Champions League campaign.

“Champions League is a dream come true for me,” he said.

“When I started to play football I just thought about the Champions League. I saw the Champions League on TV, I saw the best players in the Champions League.

“I think this is a good opportunity for us to bring our football to the Champions League and hopefully we will do well.”