Odsonne Edouard’s form in recent weeks is likely to cause concern for those who want their strikers to be scoring goals.
Yes, the Frenchman has now went four matches without a goal. His last strike for the Hoops was his tap-in against RB Leipzig in the Europa League.
Overall this season, he’s managed to bag 11 goals in 25 Celtic appearances. That’s a decent enough return, but everyone knows that the big forward can do better.
To sum it up, his job as a striker is to score goals and he simply isn’t doing it. Does it matter? Not one jot if we’re being honest.
Sure, it would be ideal if Edouard could turn on the style in front of goal every week. Having a prolific striker who only needs one sight at goal is priceless in this day and age.
The truth is, however, that the Frenchman does so much more hard work off the ball that goes unnoticed. Against Aberdeen for example, how often did he run the channels and drop deep to link-up the play?
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Playing like a number 10
He barely hovers around the penalty box, and is more likely to be seen hovering around the number 10 position looking to feed others. Edouard is proving to be a selfless player, and his role is playing a huge part in this Celtic revival.
At the start of the season when he was struggling with an injury, Celtic couldn’t get themselves going. Now? His ability to drag defenders out and hold-up the ball is proving to be extremely beneficial to the likes of Ryan Christie, Tom Rogic, and Callum McGregor.
Celtic would be a lot worse off without the former PSG kid’s hold-up play.
You can see the difference when Leigh Griffiths comes on. Whilst the Scottish international is a fine finisher and knows where the net is, he doesn’t have the same traits as Edouard. In this Celtic side, Edouard’s qualities bring out the best in so many others around him.
It’s important that supporters don’t get too concerned with his lack of goals. Whilst it would be nice to see him hit the net more often, he’s flourishing alongside Celtic’s other attackers.
He may not be sticking the ball in the net, but Edouard is fair doing everything else.