The Scottish Sun has reported that Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard is unlikely to accept a move to Premier League outfit Aston Villa.
The Sun stated over the weekend that Dean Smith’s side are willing to splash £30million on the French superstar. This comes after a summer of interest from the Villains in Celtic’s number one hitman.
However, in a major boost for the Hoops supporters, Edouard is reportedly ready to dig his heels in and is likely to hold out for a better option than the lowly Villa Park club.
The newspaper has also stated that Celtic are not interested in selling him with a historic 10-in-a-row on the line.
In recent weeks, Leeds United have also been linked with a move for Edouard (Daily Mirror). But given that he could be looking for a better option than Villa, he’s hardly likely to consider a move to Elland Road either.
Edouard would be making a terrific long-term decision
Sure, Eddy could go down the road this summer if he wanted, so long as an acceptable offer came Celtic’s way. But it would be extremely hard to stand out in sides that are battling relegation.
Edouard will have watched in recent years as Lyon signed his countryman Moussa Dembele whilst Arsenal swooped in for Kieran Tierney. He must be thinking to himself “that could be me”.
However, in order for the big dogs to start hovering for French Eddy, he needs a big Champions League campaign under his belt. When Lyon signed Dembele, he had four group stage goals to his name. Edouard, meanwhile, has never managed a Champions League goal for the Hoops.
When he ticks that box and proves he can do it at the highest level, bigger vultures will circle.
For Celtic, that suits us to an extent. It would allow us to keep him for the potential 10-in-a-row season whilst hopefully coming to an agreement on a contract extension that would put us in a good position next summer.
Even though the Sun has reported that Celtic aren’t considering him as for sale, that means next to nothing. Tierney and Dembele were most likely in the same bracket.
Edouard’s mindset, however, changes everything. If he isn’t interested in moving to Aston Villa or Leeds, that will only boost our chances of keeping him for the season ahead.
In other news, Trabzonspor striker Caleb Ekuban reportedly wants a move to Celtic this summer.
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