According to a report in The Daily Record, Celtic are monitoring Stoke City striker Tyrese Campbell as they look to provide Odsonne Edouard with some much needed support up front for Celtic.
The 19-year-old, England under 20 forward is out of contract at the end of the season and the Hoops could get Campbell for as little £350k, similar to the price Rangers paid for Joe Aribo from Charlton, due to the cross-border loophole regarding development fees for youth players.
The article claims that head of football operations, Nick Hammond, is aware of Campbell’s availability and is keeping a watchful eye on his situation as he looks to secure re-enforcements for Neil Lennon’s squad.
Stoke City signed Campbell for £1.75m from Manchester City three years ago and would be looking for a similar amount, if not more, should another English club offer the teenager a contract. The Hoops are in a great position to be able to offer Campbell more money because of the reduced transfer fee and also the carrot of European football and regular trophy success.
Celtic need to strengthen their attacking options with Vakoun Bayo and Leigh Griffiths the only other strikers in the squad at the moment, Lewis Morgan has filled in recently but isn’t of the standard required moving forward.
Bayo has yet to make any real impact and Griffiths continues to have fitness issues, whether or not this is enough to persuade Hammond and Lennon to make a move in January remains to be seen, either way, Edouard needs decent support in the short-term and ultimately, will potentially need to be replaced in the long-term given how close he was to the exit in the summer.
At 19, Celtic would be buying potential and with just 1 goal in 13 appearances for Stoke in the Championship this season, he would have to hit the ground running to avoid being written off before his Paradise career had already started, or, he could be another Jeremie Frimpong and become an instant fans’ hero.
Who should Celtic target to support Edouard?
Youngster with potential for a small fee
Experienced international for big money
Campbell would be following in the footsteps of Edouard and Moussa Dembele as previous teenage striker signings, not much to live up to then…