Celtic are plotting a move for Brentford forward Neil Maupay as fears grow over the potential exit of record signing Odsonne Edouard this summer, according to the Express.
The newspaper claim on their website that the Hoops are fearful of losing the 21-year-old, who became the club’s biggest ever signing in a £9million deal last summer, and as such have set sights on 22-year-old Maupay after his blistering season in the Championship.
The French forward netted a total of 28 goals across all competitions for the Bees, 25 of those coming in England’s second tier and as such is said to have the likes of Aston Villa chasing his capture.
It is stated the Villans were quoted a price tag of £20million in January and as such Celtic could find themselves forced to look elsewhere if Brentford stick to their asking price.
Good move for Celtic?
The Hoops are setting their sights seriously high with a move for Maupay – although they perhaps should not be so convinced he can do a job for the Bhoys.
Teemu Pukki could not get firing on all cylinders during his time at Parkhead and he has gone and blown the Championship away, so maybe Celtic need to be wary of Maupay failing to live up to expectation if he did head north of the border.
However, his 28 goals in the 2018/19 season are impossible to ignore and you can see why the likes of Aston Villa are keen ahead of their Premier League campaign.
If they could get him on board, you imagine there would not be too many out there who would rue the departure of Edouard, who had a hit and miss season despite scoring 22 goals of his own.
This is Futbol rating: 9/10
Likely to happen?
This is where it all comes crumbling down for Neil Lennon and the Celtic faithful.
Maupay is a pipe dream of a signing – Brentford were demanding £20million in January and not much is going to have changed after he kept up his goal scoring record.
The Hoops are looking to make big signings but are fighting with those with much deeper pockets than their own and must not waste time believing they can seal his capture.
This is Futbol rating: 1/10