Kristoffer Ajer was the first wantaway star to completely leave Paradise following his £13.5million+ move to Brentford on Wednesday, and it appears Odsonne Edouard is soon going to be copying his ex-team mate with a move down south as Brighton and Hove Albion have reportedly bid £21.5million for the Frenchman.
Edouard, 23, has been the top scorer in the Scottish Premier League for the past two seasons with 22 and 18 goals respectively, proving his worth as one of the most coveted young attackers on the continent. His goalscoring exploits had brought the attentions of Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and especially Leicester to the table, however their interest seemed to have dwindled following a lacklustre campaign for the Hoops last year.
There is still significant Premier League interest in his talents, though. Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers – the man who brought French Eddy to Parkhead – was thought to have wanted him to become a long-term successor to Jamie Vardy. However, after stopping negotiations at £15million, they instead pursued RB Salzburg’s Patson Daka who signed for £23million.
Brighton and Crystal Palace have also been interested, and according to a report by proficient Italian source Sportitalia, Brighton’s £21.5million bid has firmly put the south-coast side in the driving seat as they look to shore up their goalscoring worries with the signing of the talismanic Frenchman.
🇫🇷 | Odsonne Edouard
Brighton have made a bid of £21.5M for Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard.
This has firmly put the Premier League side as the favourites to win his signature & if successful would make Edouard their record signing.
[@tvdellosport] pic.twitter.com/3vVdCOuxwU
— Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) July 23, 2021
Should they be successful, it would make Edouard their record signing – but more importantly, would represent a sensational bit of business from Celtic; to collect over £20million for a player who has entered the final year of his contract, this will be vital in replenshing areas of the squad that are underfunded.