Striker Odsonne Edouard is currently in the form of his life, and he is helping the Hoops romp towards their 9th title in a row. Neil Lennon recently indicated that keeping the Frenchman, in the long run, could be tough.
The Hoops boss said (Daily Record), “We want to keep him for as long as we can, but sometimes business dictates otherwise. However, he’s enjoying his football and seems happy here. He’s a very quiet kid off the field, laid back and easy going. You don’t get too many foreign players nowadays doing what Henrik did and staying here for seven years.”
It seems like this is almost a warning call for the supporters to not get their hopes up of seeing Edouard in Glasgow for long. Given his form so far, one wouldn’t blame some of the top clubs of the world if they try to bring him in the summer. He has already been linked with the likes of Tottenham. We believe that even clubs like Manchester United or Chelsea could become interested in the forward once this season ends, given their issues in the attacking part of the pitch.
Odsonne Edouard: A well-rounded striker
Edouard is currently the top scorer in the Premiership with 20 goals. However, more than his goals, the impact which he has in almost every game is what makes him such a fan favourite. The Frenchman is deceptively quick for a striker of his stature. His dribbling skills allow him to go past players for fun in the Premiership.
The 22-year-old is more than a goal scorer as he can link up play well and playing alongside Leigh Griffiths in the 3-5-2 system seems to be suiting him more. He can come up short and hold up the play well, and there doesn’t seem to be any glaring weakness to his game. And yes, his set-pieces are also turning deadly with every game with the striker bagging two goals from freekicks in the last two games. Still 22, the Celtic man is yet to his peak.
What should Lennon do?
His awareness, physicality and finishing skills would make him a big hit in the Premier League. There is no doubt to us that he will move on to bigger and better things in the future and even Lennon realises that. The forward has his contract at Celtic until 2022, and maybe the club could get him to extend it for another year or two which would push up his value further.
Celtic will need to make sure they get the best value out of the striker in the transfer market. Given the current market, Edouard could easily fetch around or over £40m in our estimate. Until then, the fans should enjoy the fireworks of the rampaging Frenchman.
