Pundit and former Scottish Premiership striker, Noel Whelan, believes that Odsonne Edouard has had his head turned by transfer rumours resulting in his apparent lack of desire to sign a new contract with Celtic.
Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan claims that the Frenchman’s representatives will already have held talks with interested parties as they plot their client’s move away from the club.
So what has Whelan said?
Whelan was commenting on recent speculation lining Edouard with a move to the Premier League and highlights how difficult it will be for Celtic to hold onto the league’s top goalscorer:
“There’s a lot of whispers going around and a lot of interest – that is the problem.
“The representatives of the player know that, Chelsea have been looking at him, it’s been no secret there, it’s been in the papers as well. Look, goalscorers are commodities at either club, whether you’re owning them or you don’t.
“You know you’re going to have a fight on your hands. The fact that he’s not signing a new deal now shows there have been some talks between his representatives and other clubs, possibly, about the services of that player.
“The kid’s a goal machine. You can’t compete with the Premier League, no matter how big you are in Scotland, whether you’re Celtic or Rangers.”
So is Whelan correct?
Absolutely, if a club makes a suitable offer and are willing to pay Edouard 3-4 times more than he is on at present then there is only going to be one outcome, especially given the size of the clubs involved.
For a 22-year-old he has a lot of first-team experience and perhaps more importantly has played a significant amount of European football, he has also shown that he can cope with the pressure of leading the line in front of 60,000 demanding fans every other week.
Edouard still has two years to run on his contract but the fact that he has yet to agree new terms is another indication that he doesn’t see his future at Celtic Park and Hoops fans should be making the most of him while they still can.