Celtic legend Jackie McNamara has given his verdict about the future of the club’s star striker Odsonne Edouard.
McNamara was present as a guest on the latest video that was recently uploaded by the 67HailHail YouTube channel. The former Celtic man discussed many issues surrounding the Parkhead side. One thing that he was asked about is the future of Edouard and if he sees the Frenchman leaving the club soon.
Edouard began the 2020/21 season with a hat-trick in Celtic’s Premiership game against Hamilton. The hat-trick helped the Hoops pick up a 5-1 win (as per BBC Sport).
When talking about Edouard’s future at Celtic Park, McNamara said: “I don’t think he’ll go anywhere this season. The players that will leave the club this season are the ones that they don’t want.
Do you think Edouard will leave this summer?
He will stay
He will leave
“I think the club, over the last number of years, has been very good at doing things at the right time. When [Moussa] Dembele left two seasons ago at the end of the transfer window, it was doom and gloom. Edouard might not have had that opportunity to shine the way he has since then, [he was] living in the shadows of Dembele and waiting for opportunities with only one striker, which Brendan [Rodgers] done a lot of the time.”
He continued: “You can only keep players for so long, as we’ve seen. It is regardless of loving their time at the club. It is very, very difficult for a club to compete. You see it when they do leave the club. You look at [Virgil] van Dijk now, £75 million to Liverpool, Kieran [Tierney] going [to Arsenal] last summer and already they’re saying £25 million’s a snip because he’s doing it in their league.
“So it has always been the case. There’s no doubt at one stage – hopefully, it is a lot later on in terms of Edouard – Celtic will actively be looking for replacements for every position.”
McNamara clearly feels that while Edouard will not leave this season, he might just follow the same path as Virgil van Dijk and Kieran Tierney by leaving Celtic at some point in the future.
TIF Thoughts…
Neil Lennon has already confirmed that the club is in talks to hand Edouard a new contract. Football Insider had reported that the Hoops are now ‘increasingly hopeful’ of Edouard extending his stay at Parkhead. They had claimed that Celtic are ‘making progress’ in their attempts to hand him the new deal.
So those are positive signs for Celtic fans. His hat-trick against Hamilton shows that he is an important player for Celtic. He found the back of the net 27 times in all competitions last season and that is also a reflection of how much he means to the Hoops. Celtic fans can only hope that he stays, as his goals can prove crucial in the club’s hunt for the 10th Premiership title in a row.