McGowan reveals that Celtic are braced for £10m summer EPL bid

Stephen McGowan is reporting that Southampton are preparing a £10m bid for Liel Abada.

That will almost certainly depend on the south coast side retaining their place in the EPL but over many years McGowan has delivered a very accurate account of Celtic’s transfer business.

A report from Israel from the owner of Maccabi Petah Tikva has prompted the latest burst of speculation but it is easy to put together the jigsaw pieces that would see the winger move in the summer.

The most significant piece was delivered by Ange Postecoglou at the Celtic AGM in November when he warned fans not to get too attached to heroes as they can move on.

In January Giorgos Giakoumakis and Josip Juranovic left the club, at a profit Alastair Johnston has stepped in for Juranovic with Oh Hyeon-gyu looking a more than decent deputy to Kyogo Furuhashi.

Taking the Abada story on a few steps McGowan tells Daily Mail readers:

Southampton are preparing a £10million summer move for Celtic winger Liel Abada.

And the Parkhead club are prepared to listen to offers after talks over a pay rise for the 21-year-old failed to secure agreement.

Abada sparked an injury scare on Monday when a hamstring muscle problem saw him limp out of training with Israel ahead of their Euro 2024 qualifiers.

With the player now a doubt for the qualifying double header against Kosovo and Switzerland, he could return to Glasgow where discussions over a new contract have reached stalemate.

With no sign of a breakthrough, Avi Luzon – president of Abada’s former club   Maccabi Petah Tikva – believes the wide man is now certain to be sold this summer. He hopes his club will benefit from a hefty sell-on clause if a transfer goes through.

Abada is under contract until 2026 but if the terms are agreeable Postecoglou won’t go twisting anyone’s arm to stay with Celtic.