Celtic have been given a major boost in their pursuit of Thomas Henry, with the player identifying Parkhead as his preferred choice, the Daily Mail reports [11/08, page 72].
The Mail claims that Henry has a host of clubs chasing him. Venezia, Bordeaux, Southampton, and Watford are all said to be interested.
However, in a big plus for Celtic, Henry is eyeing up Glasgow as his priority choice this summer. But the Daily Mail states any move will be dependent on whether Odsonne Edouard departs.
The report claims that Edouard is ready to wind down his contract in Glasgow and be patient over a move. Whilst that sounds ideal at face value, it would be frustrating if it blocked any move for Henry.
Henry was first linked with Celtic earlier this week. The Scottish Sun reported that he was being valued at £7m, with Celtic in pole position for his signature.
Celtic need to shift Edouard out if Henry is crucial to the rebuild
If Celtic see Henry as crucial to their long-term rebuild, they’ll need to do all they can to get Edouard out the door. Even if the Frenchman is happy to stay and delay his exit, Celtic need to do what’s best for them.
And you have to wonder how long Henry will wait for Celtic to make their move. If he has alternative offers on the table, will he truly put them at risk just to see if Edouard leaves Celtic?
The ideal scenario would be to snap him up in any case. Celtic know that Edouard will be away in the next 12 months regardless. So investing in his replacement now would seem like a wise move at face value.
Of course, we can’t say Celtic haven’t spent money this summer. Carl Starfelt, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Liel Abada took substantial funds out of the coffers. But even so, Celtic have a decision to make with Henry and Edouard.
It will make it tougher for the Hoops to get deals done now that we aren’t going to be in the UCL this season. Finances will be tighter, but considering we’ve banked over £30m in player sales in 2021, there should still be some wiggle room.
The next few weeks certainly look like they’ll be intriguing as we look to tie down Edouard’s replacement.
In other news, Celtic may be about to get a promising Glasgow Derby advantage
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