Arsenal are reportedly hopeful that a deal can be reached to bring Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard to The Emirates Stadium this summer. According to The Telegraph, a fee of around £2o million would be sufficient to prise the 23-year-old away from Celtic Park.
However, with the Gunners’ spending budget also dependent on player sales, and the possible absence of Champions League football next season, it is far from certain that Arsenal will be able to make a move for the Frenchman in the upcoming transfer window. Edouard, who is expected to leave Celtic at the end of the current season, has also been strongly linked with a move to Leicester City in a transfer that would see him link up with his former manager Brendan Rodgers.
Arsenal Hoping to Secure Odsonne Edouard Transfer This Summer
Celtic Unlikely to Keep Hold of French Striker
Edouard has been prolific since joining Celtic from Paris Saint-Germain – initially on loan – in August 2017. The striker has netted 81 goals and has provided a further 36 assists in just 163 appearances for the club, attracting the attention of clubs south of the border with Scotland.
Even in a tumultuous 2020/21 season, which has seen Celtic dethroned as Scottish champions by bitter rivals Rangers, Edouard still managed 16 goals and five assists in league competition alone.
However, Celtic’s repeated failure to leave an imprint on the Champions League has seen players of Edouard’s ilk continuously linked with moved away from the Scottish Premiership. This season, the Hoops were dumped out of Europe’s elite club competition by Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros in the second qualifying round back in August. The defeat was one of several high-profile setbacks suffered by the former European champions in the last 12 months, and meaning that Celtic missed out on the competition’s group stages for the third successive season.
Leicester Currently in the Driving Seat Over Edouard
One club hopeful of appearing in the Champions League next season is Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City side, who are the current favourites for Edouard’s signature, according to The Telegraph’s Sam Dean. Having missed out on the final day of last season, the Foxes will be hoping to avoid a repeat in this season’s Premier League.
If Edouard were to join Leicester over Arsenal in the summer, he would rejoin his former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers in the Premier League, with the pair having enjoyed huge domestic success in their time together in Scotland.
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