Go for it Rodgers – Celtic must surely complete this £5million+ deal for 11-goal attacker

Celtic are closing in on the signing of striker Odsonne Edouard from Paris Saint-Germain for a fee of £5million plus add-ons, according to the Daily Mail.

The French forward spent the 2017/18 campaign on loan with the Hoops and impressed in his season-long stint, prompting the Scottish champions to shell out the money to sign him on a permanent deal.  

Edouard arrived at Celtic with a reputation of being a lethal marksman throughout his youth career with PSG. The striker had earned the nickname “Rocket”, after having amassed over 60 goals in two years for the youth teams of Les Parisiens. Naturally, his signing was met with some degree of excitement at the start of the season.   

However, things did not begin all that well for the youngster, as he struggled to make a sustained impact for Brendan Rodgers’ side, despite having scored and assisted a goal each on his debut against Hamilton in September.  

Gradually though, the 20-year-old began to prove his worth to the club and finished the season very strongly, with some enticing displays towards the back end of the campaign. In total, Edouard found the net on 11 occasions in 29 appearances across all competitions, only 13 of which were from the start, and also laid on 4 assists. 

His performances against Celtic’s arch-rivals Rangers in the past couple of months were absolutely stand out and endeared him to the fans a great deal.

Edouard, in his two appearances against the Gers, netted three goals, including the winning goal in the 3-2 triumph back in March and set up one more, showing he can step up on the big occasions. 

The French youth international had the best goals per minute ratio among all the strikers at the Parkhead this season, scoring at a rate of a goal every 114.45 minutes, whereas star striker Moussa Dembele netted one in every 150.69 minutes. Scottish international Leigh Griffiths was on target once in every 152.15 minutes.

This goes on to indicate that the 20-year old has what it takes to establish himself as a consistent source of goals for the Parkhead outfit when given regular playing time.

The youngster has pace in abundance and is strong. He also cuts an imposing figure at the top of the attack. A very good dribbler of the ball, he can run past defenders with ease and has proven himself to be a composed finisher too.

Edouard, in his temporary stay with the Champions, has made a significant impact. At 20, he is very young and has plenty of room for growth and improvement in the coming years.

The immense promise and potential that he has shown so far in his fledgeling career could make him a great signing for the Hoops, especially considering that Dembele’s long-term future at the club is far from certain.