Celtic legend and Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas believes that current Hoops striker Odsonne Edouard will leave the club next summer.
However, he thanks that the fee will be ‘at least’ £25 million. Nicholas doesn’t think the player is as good as former Hoops striker Moussa Dembele yet, but that won’t stop him wining a move away from the Hoops eventually.
“People are already saying he is better than Moussa Dembele, who left for £20 million but I’m not so sure” he told the Daily Express (print edition, 24/09, page. 61)
“Continuing to improve”
“For me, Dembele has more cunning and aggression in his game. However, I can see Edouard continuing to improve and leaving Celtic in a year or so for at least £25 million.”
Most Celtic fans are realistic that Edouard won’t be spending the remainder of his career at Celtic. He will most likely follow Dembele and Kieran Tierney out of the club, for a vast sum of money.
Hopefully it is the £25 million plus that Nicholas has suggested. However, the fact that Edouard has rarely featured in the Champions League for the Hoops could mean that the Hoops don’t get the amount of money that Nicholas has suggested.
Lack of Champions League football could be a factor
If Edouard had scored regularly in the Champions League, like Moussa Dembele did, there is no doubt that Celtic could get at least £25 million from any potential transfer.
At the moment though, clubs may not be willing to pay the large sum of money that Celtic would want for the player. However, that could be a good thing for the Hoops.
Perhaps he will want to stay at Celtic until he makes an impact in the Champions League. That could mean he doesn’t leave Celtic until January 2021 at the earliest.
It remains to be seen if that happens or not. But when Edouard departs, the silver lining will be the transfer fee that the Hoops receive.
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