Celtic suffered a considerable blow late on in the transfer period as Moussa Dembele pushed his way out of the club to sign for Lyon. Ever since he joined the Hoops, he was always linked with a move away given his quality and abilities as a striker. Brendan Rodgers did well to utilise two years of him at Celtic Park, and we feel it was missing out on Champions League football this season that pushed the Frenchman to leave the club. That notion is given more substance by the fact that Lyon would be part of the Champions League group stages.
The move happened almost in the last hours of the transfer window, and Rodgers didn’t have much time to look for replacements. However, we believe the manager played it well by securing the deal of Odsonne Edouard on a permanent basis well in advance for a club record fee. Now they could look for a backup option, someone who provide cover to the likes of Edouard and Leigh Griffiths and someone who would bring something new to the table. We think they can go after Lacina Traore who currently is a free agent and thus the manager can still bring him to Park Head.
The reason why we think he makes a good case for himself? He stands at 6 ft 8 inches and would add a whole new dimension to the team. When things don’t work out for Rodgers, he can throw Traore into the mix now and then as a sort of plan B.
Traore last played for Monaco and also happens to be an Ivory Coast international. The forward is still 28 years old, so he has some years of football left in him, and as a contingency plan in the squad, he would be a good bet.
As one would expect, he is immense in the air and while on the ball; he can hold them up well. Last season, he failed to get on the scoresheet for the French giants, but we think he would be more than a handy addition to the Hoops’ squad. He might not have clicked at Monaco, but he has a decent goalscoring record throughout his career as he has 75 goals to his name in 231 appearances. One of the underrated aspects of his game is linking up play, and he does involve his team-mates well whenever he is on the ball.
With just Leigh Griffiths and Odsonne Edouard as the strike options, having a backup striker won’t be a bad idea. A long-term injury lay off to one of the two main strikers could cause a lot of concern for Rodgers. Even when all would be fit and available, the manager can throw Traore into games, and his presence would disrupt the opposition in defence. All said and done; we think Rodgers should try to get this deal done.
