Odsonne Edouard had been expected to leave Celtic this summer for Leicester City. The FA Cup Winners were in talks with Celtic with the view to setting up a deal to reunited Edouard with former Hoops boss, Brendan Rodgers. However, Leicester have identified Patson Daka as an alternative to Edouard after the deal appeared to stall.
The Athletic are reporting that there were a number of reasons for the Edouard deal collapsing, which leaves Celtic in an awkward position. The 22-year-old RB Salzburg striker is now looking to be edging nearer a move to Leicester and it is said that he became their priority after the deal for Edouard looked overly complicated.
Edouard, 24, had greater wage demands than Daka which Leicester were happy to concede if they could agree a fee with Celtic, which they could not. The report states that Celtic were also more reluctant to allow Brendan Rodgers to steal away one of their prize assets for below the asking price of £25m, owing to some ill-feeling by some about the way that he departed.
Whether this ‘Rodgers Tax‘ is a thing and Celtic are still bitter about the circumstances around the Irishman swapping Glasgow for Leicester. Celtic should, if the player is desperate for a move, be looking at a club that will best improve the player and increase his value (and Celtic’s respective sell-on fee).
Another reason for the deal collapsing is that Daka fits into the mould of Jamie Vardy. The 34-year-old has two years remaining on his deal with the side that has finished 5th in the Premier League over the last two seasons under Rodgers but the manager is looking at establishing a succession plan beyond the clinical striker. Daka appears to have similar attributes to the Englishman as opposed to Edouard.
Furthermore, Daka is seen by Lee Congerton as being a better re-sellable option in the long run as opposed to Edouard. This is likely disputed as Edouard has scored 83 goals and assisted 37 since joining Celtic back in 2017. The player has excelled since moving to Glasgow but will likely see himself at a top club to further his progression.
Celtic now stand to miss out on the £25m that they crave for the Frenchman, who will likely represent Les Bleus at The Olympics in Tokyo; however, a deal may still be done to sell him but for a tad under the asking price given the position that Celtic find themselves in.
ALEC McNAIR – CELTIC’S ICICLE by David Potter…
David Potter’s new book Alec McNair – Celtic’s Icicle is now available at Celtic Stores, on Amazon and of course direct from Celtic Star Books, just click on the image below to order and we will post your copy first class post tomorrow….
