Time to get things in order.
That seemed to be the message that Michael Brown wanted to get across when it came to the future of Celtic forward Odsonne Edouard.
Speaking to Football Insider, the former English Premier League midfielder said that the Bhoys need to start thinking about how they are going to replace him, because unless they can take that next big step under Neil Lennon, the chances are that a prized asset like Edouard will want to seek a future elsewhere:
“I just think that anyone who does well – contracts are going out, there’s going to be interest in people… It’s normal practice and Celtic will understand that if there’s bigger clubs. That means you’re doing well if there’s bigger clubs looking at your players. Celtic are a huge club but ultimately they’re not playing on a top European stage so what level can Edouard go? If they can get him to sign and get him to keep progressing, great, if not they’ve got to start planning for it without him.”
Whilst letting big name players leave is nothing new to Celtic, this situation, and the current climate does at the very least give them a little bit of an advantage.
Should the club move on from Edouard?
Yes
No
With no football games going on, and as a result no game plans or tactics to be implementing, they can use this time to really get a head start when it comes to finding that potential replacement. Whilst it is looking likely that Edouard isn’t going to sign a new deal any time soon, they can use this down time to either work tooth and nail to try and convince him to sign a new one, or if that doesn’t work then they can start scouting to see who will be his replacement in the summer if they decide to move him on.
Either way, there can be no excuses for not getting the whole thing lined up and done in the smoothest possible way. Not as if they’ve got anything else they can be doing.