Ralph Hasenhuttl has admitted that his side needs a new striker after the sale of Danny Ings to Aston Villa. The Sun reported that Southampton are considering a £20m move for Edouard in the next few days. The Southampton boss told The Daily Echo that he needs to sign a new centre forward, which could mean that the Saints make a move for Celtic’s Odsonne Edouard in the coming days.
“I think we know that we have lost a very important striker in Danny Ings and to replace him, sure, we know that we have to do something.
“We definitely need someone.”
The 23-year-old has been with Celtic since 2017 after joining on a season-long loan from PSG before sealing a £9m deal the following year. Edouard has scored 83 goals and assisting 39 times, impressing since taking over as Celtic’s first choice striker.
A reunion with Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City had been the expected destination for the French U21 Internationalist. However, the Premier League side decided to go for RB Salzburg’s Daka due to complications relating to the deal for Edouard.
It is widely expected that he will leave the club this summer but only if Celtic can obtain their required fee. £20m with significant add-ons would represent good value for the player that has just one year left on his deal. A number of clubs have expressed an interest in the player but they are probably not at the level of teams that were being linked with the striker last summer. Saints could potentially offer Edouard a route to a ‘Top Six’ team if he impresses, which serves Celtic’s interests regarding a sell-on fee.
Southamton have raided Celtic previously with Stuart Armstrong, Virgil Van Dijk, Fraser Forster and Victor Wanyama all swapping Glasgow for the South Coast. Relations between the clubs appear to be favourable given deals have been struck in the past with loans for Moi Elyounoussi and Forster being struck in the last few seasons.
