Despite Rangers’ resurgence last season, Celtic successfully maintained their domestic dominance and conquered a historic treble ‘treble’ exhibiting their excellence. But the Hoops are struggling to tie down their summer targets so far this window and the mayhem on Friday night over David Turnbull’s transfer has caused a lot of controversy on the social media.
The Bhoys, meanwhile, are sweating over the future of star striker Odsonne Edouard who is in Lazio’s radar as revealed by LaLazioSiamoNoi (via The Laziali). A fee of around €20m is believed to be enough to secure his services in order to replace Felipe Caicedo, who could ply his trade to Turkey to join Galatasaray.
Edouard has been Celtic’s prime ‘number 9’ following the exit of Moussa Dembele last summer. Forgotten forward Leigh Griffiths is set to return this summer after taking a sabbatical from football due to personal reasons, but the Scotsman would require time to regain his form while spearheading the attack.
Edouard, Celtic’s club-record signing for £8m, has found the net 23 times in 52 appearances during the 2018-19 campaign. He had a promising loan stint the season before, and the former Paris Saint-Germain academy prospect did exceptionally well to adjust to the physicality and aggressiveness of Scottish football.
But the interest from I Biancocelesti would offer the 21-year-old an opportunity to move to Italy with one of the most esteemed Serie A outfits. Although they finished eighth in the league standings, a boisterous 2-0 victory against Atalanta led them to win Coppa Italia for the seventh time in their history. The success at Parkhead has been massive, but the player might try it out in one of Europe’s top football leagues if an ambitious bid is tabled.
While Rangers are roping in players one after another, Celtic are battling it out to keep hold of their core names. Oliver Burke and Timo Weah were wrapped up on temporary deals back in winter. However, neither of them succeeded in making a similar impact as Dembele before leaving Parkhead. Vakoun Issouf Bayo was brought in from Dunajská Streda on a four-year deal, but the Ivorian has not been handed minutes to shine for his new employers.
Edouard, the former France youth international, has not only grabbed goals but also impressed with his work rate, movement in and around the box, ability to build up moves and play quick one-twos with his teammates to open up space upfront. Although a bit inconsistent at times, the youngster has a bright future ahead of him and should be retained at any cost to sustain the supremacy of the past decade.
