Edouard Interest Sparks Sell-On Clause Concern

Edouard Interest Sparks Sell-On Clause Concern

There’s no other way to say it – the 2020/21 season has been an absolute disaster for Celtic.

Trounced in the race for the Scottish Premiership by the resurgent Rangers, the Hoops have now been without a permanent manager for months – the hope is that the Eddie Howe deal will be completed once the contractual negotiations are navigated.

But the former Bournemouth boss will have plenty on his plate at Parkhead, not least the impending loss of inspirational leader Scott Brown but also in the probable sale of Odsonne Edouard.



The striker is attracting plenty of interest from around the continent, with his former boss Brendan Rodgers said to be keen on taking the 23-year-old to Leicester City. If he can persuade Edouard to sign, the Foxes’ outright winner Premier League betting odds for 2021/22 would surely tumble with the French ace’s goals complimenting those of Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho.

Arsenal, Aston Villa, AC Milan and Napoli are also said to be monitoring the progress of a frontman who netted 16 league goals for Celtic this term and whose career haul for the Bhoys now reads an outstanding 85 goals in 168 appearances in all competitions.

Devastatingly, it was recently revealed that there is a sell-on clause built into Edouard’s contract which states that PSG, his former club, will be paid 50% of the profit on any subsequent transfer deal.

That means that even if Celtic are able to achieve the rumoured £20 million he is expected to fetch, they would only walk away with a couple of million in profit at best.

It has been suggested that Edouard has set his sights on moving to pastures, and that would be a huge blow to the new manager, who would be looking to turn Celtic back into a title-winning force in 2022.

Shopping Clever

By all accounts, and barring the odd anomaly, Celtic’s recruitment of new players has been excellent in recent years.

The scouting team will have to dig deep in their files to find a suitable replacement for Edouard, however, as strikers with a goal-every-other-game ratio are rather hard to come by.

The jury is out on Albian Ajeti as a like-for-like replacement for the young French ace, and so bringing in a new face will be essential to the Parkhead rebuilding mission.

There has been links made to Hibernian’s Kevin Nisbet, who notched 14 times this season in what was a breakthrough campaign for the 24-year-old – he also received his first Scotland cap. The Hibees man would represent a lower-cost option, but is he ready to plunder the number of goals that ensure Edouard is nothing but a distant memory?



A more eye-catching target might be Eddie Nketiah, who is still struggling to nail down a first-team place at Arsenal. Still only 21, he has the look of a prolific striker in the making, but Nketiah simply has to play more football if he is to fulfil his potential.

Casting the net far and wide may be the best course of action for Celtic’s recruitment team. Will they take a chance on somebody like Marvin Ducksch, who netted 15 times in a Hannover side that finished in mid-table in the German Bundesliga II?

The giant Paul Onuachu, who stands 6ft 8in, is one of the leading goalscorers in Europe this term with 33 goals for Genk, and he would clearly be able to stand up to the physical rigours of the Scottish game. Vangelis Pavlidis is a Greek forward who scored 14 times in the Dutch Eredivisie for a Willem II side that was battling relegation throughout the campaign – again, that’s impressive.

Celtic may have to get creative in their pursuit of a replacement for Edouard, because if they cannot find somebody appropriate they risk being left in the dust of Rangers once more.