John Hartson has named three Celtic men who he feels could fill the gap in the event of an injury to Odsonne Edouard.
Frenchman Edouard has already netted 12 goals this season but has only missed two games since July. It may be a stretch to say that Celtic are heavily reliant on the 21-year-old, but you may fear if he was to be absent for a couple of games.
Vakoun Issouf Bayo and Leigh Griffiths are both toiling with injuries at present, although the latter has restarted full training.
But, in the event of that duo not being around, Hartson still reckons Neil Lennon could call on a trio of first-team stars.
“Celtic are a little light in terms of back-up to Edouard, although Leigh Griffiths is on his way back,” he told the Scottish Sun.
“Celtic have shown they can play Ryan Christie further up, while James Forrest can also play off the front. Mohamed Elyounoussi is also a forward-thinking player.”
Hartson’s prediction is hard to see
It’s hard to envisage any of Christie, Forrest or Elyounoussi starting a match up front. Perhaps the former is the more likely given his style of play, but it still seems an unlikely scenario.
The club also have youngster Jonathan Afolabi on their books and many fans would prefer to see him given a chance rather than moving a winger or midfielder up the pitch.
We’ve got eleven matches in just over a month when we return from the international break. It’s a brutal fixture schedule that sees us playing a game roughly every three days. It’s hard to see Edouard playing all of those matches – so other options will have to be assessed.
There’s a big opportunity for someone to grasp in the striking department. Time will tell who that man is.
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