Ian McGarry has been speaking on the latest edition of The Transfer Window podcast, discussing a bid from Arsenal for Celtic’s Odsonne Edouard.
McGarry spent a little bit of time on this subject as well as other Arsenal transfer stories and left most of the talking to Duncan Castles, but he did reveal this information on the Gunners’ alleged move to sign the Frenchman.
It seems as if the Gunners have made two bids for Edouard, and the Bhoys would like to receive more of the fee up front as, at the moment, Arsenal have proposed to pay for the deal in stages.
He said: “It’s our information that the initial offer from Arsenal was £15m, which was rejected by Celtic. That offer has since been increased to £20m with add-ons up to the value of another £2.5m.
“However, the payment would be staged over four years, something which, of course, we saw last season with the transfer of Kieran Tierney to the Emirates.
“Celtic would prefer to have a much bigger payment up front.”
Do you think Arsenal will sign Edouard?
No, he is going nowhere
Yes, we will sign him
TIF Thoughts…
Edouard, who is valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt, has been linked with the likes of Aston Villa, Leicester City and Newcastle United as well as Arsenal; however, it looks like it is the Gunners who are pressing ahead with concrete offers for the 22-year-old.
Edouard scored 27 goals in all competitions last season, and in just five games this season, he has managed five goals and an assist, so you can see why Mikel Arteta wants him.
However, because Arsenal already currently have three players who can play as a forward, you would think that the Gunners might have to get rid of someone before bringing in Edouard.
Castles suggests later in the episode that Alexandre Lacazette could leave the club and is in talks with Juventus and Atletico Madrid.
McGarry does not reveal if Celtic have rejected this latest offer from Arsenal for Edouard, but suggests that the Bhoys want the payment structure changed.
So, it will be interesting to see if the Gunners can sort out a deal for the Frenchman or if he will remain at Celtic Park.