Former England and Premier League striker, Darren Bent has claimed in a Football Insider interview that Celtic would be interested in selling Odsonne Edouard if the reported £20m link to Crystal Palace in The Sun is true.
Bent was speaking as recent speculation and interest in the 21-year-old Frenchman hots up following his displays in this season’s Europa League and for France under 21s.
So what has Bent said?
The ex-Tottenham Hotspur forward was asked if he felt that Edouard could do a job for goal-shy Palace and whether or not Celtic would do a deal at the rumoured price:
“Yeah if they can get him then brilliant”.
“When people are scoring goals in Scotland it does grab people’s attention but it’s a different kettle of fish in the Premier League and obviously when you’re playing Celtic, you’re gonna have the lion’s share of the ball but in the Premier League, it’s going to be a lot tougher”.
“If they believe he can succeed in the Premier League then I’m all for it as they certainly have enough players in the team who can create chances, it’s just about him finishing them off”.
“Celtic potentially will be interested (if £20m bid tabled) as they’d think oooo, as with Celtic and Rangers, they know if they sell a player for £20million they can then look around Scottish football, cherry-pick the centre-forward who is better than the rest, whatever team that may be, and know full well they could go in with £10million and get that centre-forward”.
“So it’s like a conveyor belt as there’s no problem replacing them”.
Is Bent correct?
Palace are currently relying on Christian Benteke and Jordan Ayew to lead the line and neither have been in prolific form for some time so, there is a definite requirement to add fire power to their frontline.
The London based club have already been credited with a move for Alfredo Morelos so are obviously in the market for a new striker when the January transfer window opens.
Bent is correct in the assertion that Edouard would do well in the Premier League because he would be supported by players like Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend, Edouard thrives in a fast counter attack and has excellent link-up play.
Would Edouard be a hit for Crystal Palace?
Yes
No
The issue where Bent lets himself down is his knowledge of Scottish football, aside from the fact that there are no forwards in the Scottish Premiership that would be good enough for either of the Glasgow giants, selling Edouard in January this season would severely dent Celtic’s chances of retaining their title.
He is currently their only fit striker and is integral to the way that they have been playing this season, Celtic could go out and spend £10m on a replacement but this doesn’t guarantee that they would hit the ground running.
With the title race looking like being the closest it’s been for nearly a decade, selling Edouard (especially for £20m) would be a psychological blow to the Hoops and at the same time give Rangers a lift knowing that their rivals have sold their best player.
Unless silly money is offered, Edouard will not be going anywhere in January, despite nearly being off-loaded in the summer, he is just too important given the current striking issues at Parkhead.