It seems as though Odsonne Edouard has been linked with every club under the sun over the past few weeks, and with the Frenchman realistically unlikely to sign a new contract in the coming months, it would make sense for Celtic to cash in over the summer to clubs such as Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Napoli – who he has been linked with repeatedly since his move to Celtic Park.
There are clubs south of the border who have been heavily linked with Edouard recently too; namely Aston Villa and Crystal Palace have shown the most interest, although with the £35m price tag Celtic have lumped on French Eddy, they have baulked at paying that amount of money.
And I think anyone would given Edouard’s recent form. Yes, he has the capability to score some well taken goals, such as his goal in the humiliating defeat against St Mirren at the weekend and his nicely worked finish against Dundee United just before the turn of the year. However, he has been a passenger in many outings this year and I feel a lot of Celtic fans agree that given the right price, he should be allowed to leave Paradise with the money to be reinvested properly.
Villa and Palace are still incredibly keen on Edouard, with the Villains having grown tired of Wesley since his lengthy knee injury a year ago – and see Eddy as the perfect fit. However, a certain pundit has told him not to make the switch to England – and hold out for a move to Italy instead.
Former theRangers striker Marco Negri would know all about moving to Serie A from Glasgow, as he notched up 32 league goals in 30 games, which is admittedly a great ratio; although he didn’t quite excel in Italy after leaving Scotland. However, he still believes Edouard would be well suited to the vineyards and historic cities of Italy, as opposed to the dullness and dark you see in England’s major cities.
Speaking to The Sunday Post, Negri said: “I would like to see Edouard in Serie A one day, rather than England. For me, he looks like a classic modern striker. He has the perfect physique, good technique and his movement is very clever.”
“At the same time, I believe he could still learn a lot from playing with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus, or Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic. These are players who are great stars, the best in the world.”
“So it would be a real opportunity for him, and one not to be wasted. I say that, even though I know he enjoys a lot of success in Scotland, where he has already won many honours with Celtic.”
