BBC pundit, Danny Mills, has revealed why Celtic fans shouldn’t be worried about potentially losing Odsonne Edouard this summer.
Speaking to Football Insider, Mills has compared the Hoops to a Premier League club as he explains his thinking.
So what has Mills said?
When asked if Celtic can hold on to their star man with so many top clubs interested, he said: “They know it is inevitable.
“When the Premier League or La Liga come knocking there is every chance you will lose out because financially they cannot compete. Whether you like it or not that is a fact.
“Football is not just about money but it is a huge factor. It is probably like Southampton. They have to make sure they have replacements ready. When you are Celtic you have to have a plan for the future.
“They will have two or three lined up to replace Edouard. People will be in mind because if the big boys come in the likelihood is they are going to lose people.”
So is Mills correct?
Absolutely, they have already shown that with how they replaced Moussa Dembele and Kieran Tierney in recent seasons without any adverse effect on the starting XI and barely making a dent into the transfer kitty.
Patryk Klimala was signed for £3.5million in January and although Hoops fans have not seen enough of him yet to judge whether or not he will be the man to replace Edouard, few would’ve predicted the Frenchman going on to be a better and more complete player than his countryman when he first signed.
Speculation has surrounded Edouard’s future for the last few windows now and with the calibre of club being linked with the 27-goal striker, it would be near-on impossible to hold onto him regardless of the historical importance of the coming season.
Hoops fans should trust Neil Lennon and Nick Hammond that they have replacements lined-up, knowing that they won’t have to scrape around in the bargain basement to identify them such has been their success in previous years.