Former Celtic striker John Hartson discussed the need for the club to keep hold of Odsonne Edouard this summer on a recent edition of the BBC’s Scottish Football podcast.
The Hoops signed the Frenchman from Paris Saint-Germain back in July 2018 in a deal reportedly worth £9.27m (as per Transfermarkt) and the 22-year-old has gone on to become a hit at Parkhead. That is evidenced by the fact he has scored an impressive 60 goals and provided 31 assists in just 126 appearances for the Scottish giants.
Neil Lennon’s side were crowned Scottish champions in the 2019/20 campaign for the ninth consecutive season and as the Hoops look towards going on and claiming their tenth title in a row, Hartson has voiced how important he believes it to be that they keep hold of the centre-forward.
He said: “It’s imperative that Celtic do their utmost to hold on to Edouard because he’s crucial to what Celtic are wanting to do this season. Even if they can put something to him and say ‘well give us another year, give us all you’ve got’. He is on a contract, but with the money that clubs have got, they can buy contracts out, they can add more on to the fee.
“He is like a Henrik Larsson, he is that important, he scores goals every week. Celtic were massively reliant on him and his goals, and if you start the season with Edouard in your team and within your ranks, as a team, you’re going to feel a lot more confident.”
Are you confident of the club keeping hold of Edouard for next season?
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TIF Thoughts…
Based on Hartson’s comments, we can assume he is worried any potential interest shown in the forward this summer could make it difficult for the club to hold onto the player who ended last season as the Scottish Premiership’s top goalscorer. The former Wales striker even compared him to Henrik Larsson when trying to emphasise how important he feels the player is to Celtic’s success moving forward.
It remains to be seen whether or not the Scottish champions will be able to keep hold of the player over the summer, but if they manage to do so, we believe it will boost their chances of winning their tenth title in a row.