According to a recent tweet by renowned football journalist Manu Lonjon, as has been quoted by reliable source Get French Football News, Scottish Premiership giants Celtic are being credited with an interest in acquiring the services of Lille’s 18-year-old strike sensation. The report suggests that Celtic consider signing Fadiga Ouattara as a prospective good move for the future. It has been clarified that Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig and La Liga side Valencia are both keen on the forward’s signature as well.
Although GFFN claims that there is a lack of clarity surrounding his actual contract tenure at the club, football statistical source Transfermarkt has the forward’s current contract at the Ligue 1 side expiring at the end of the 2020/21 league season. Manu Lonjon then went on to point out that the Celts were sticking to their trend of acquiring French origin strikers, having already gone through the likes of Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard in recent years.
How Did Ouattara Make A Name For Himself?
The 18-year-old spent most of his youth days with French lower division club Lens, after which he was identified as a potential talent and signed up by Ligue 1 side LOSC Lille. The forward joined the Stade Pierre Mauroy based club back in the summer of 2017 but is yet to break into the first-team at the French outfit officially.
Despite having been in a matchday squad for one of the cup fixtures, the youngster hasn’t made his debut for the club on a professional level yet (Transfermarkt).
What Would Fadiga Ouattara Add To The Table At Celtic?
The Frenchman is a tall and physical striker who isn’t shy about getting his body on the line to get the desired result. Adept at timing runs into space while also keeping himself onside in most situations, the youngster would offer a similar kind of presence to the likes of Edouard and Dembele in the final third. The 18-year-old is a fairly strong header of the ball, and it’s not surprising that he scores a lot of goals through that route.
At just 18, the forward offers an excellent variety of attributes, in that there isn’t much he can’t do with the ball at his feet. Deceptively tricky on the ball for a man of his stature, Ouattara has got to be one of the deadliest young finishers in Ligue 1. The Frenchman’s six fixtures for Lille in the UEFA Youth League have yielded an extremely commendable return of four goals, and that could be one of the reasons why the Celts rate him so highly.
Celtic Consider Signing Fadiga Ouattara: Should Lennon Go For It?
The presence of Odsonne Edouard in the front-line has been an extremely understated blessing for Neil Lennon’s side. Still, his potential departure, as quoted by the Daily Express, could have a lasting impact on the way this Celtic team plays. The best way to deal with that would obviously be to sign a replacement, and if that replacement is French too, and has similar attributes to the ones Edouard boasts, then Lennon mustn’t even think twice before making his move.
