da bet nacional： Celtic have continued their domestic so far this season and they have a very good chance of winning a fourth consecutive treble now that Rangers look out of the picture in the Scottish cup and the SPFL.
da lvbet： To do so again next season whilst improving in Europe one would assume that Neil Lennon needs to keep hold of his best players, but that could prove difficult.
Arsenal have recently registered an interest in prolific striker Odsonne Edouard, and they may not be the only club to do so come the summer, as the 22-year-old has been excellent this term.
In fact, since arriving in Scotland he has looked the part. Lennon has helped him excel but his talent is clear for all to see with 60 goals and 31 assists in 126 appearances for the Bhoys.
He is clearly an integral part of the team, therefore, and it would be interesting to see how the Glasgow fare without him considering he is rarely missing from the starting line-up.
Here are the opinions of our writing team on how Celtic would cope if Edouard was to depart in the summer.
Billy Meyers
“Asking if Celtic would suffer without Odsonne Edouard is like asking if a human would suffer without oxygen – the answer is obviously yes.
“The former Paris Saint-Germain forward has almost 50 goal involvements in all competitions this season, scoring 27 goals along with 19 assists – a quite phenomenal record to say the least.
“Neil Lennon would be gutted to lose him, although one silver lining is that Celtic are experienced in this type of situation. The Bhoys have had the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Victor Wanyama, Moussa Dembele and Kieran Tierney taken from them, but they scout well and do tend to find gems such as Kristoffer Ajer, Ryan Christie and also Edouard himself.
“The Frenchman will surely command a big fee, which – while not replacing his goals – will help Peter Lawwell have more control in negotiating to find a replacement, as he will have more cash to play with and also the promise of regular game time in Edouard’s absence.
“The money could also be spent on bolstering other areas of the XI – while it would be cruel to lose the striker, there are positives for Celtic.”
Watch Celtic Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
Danny Lewis
“Edouard leaving would be the biggest possible blow they could face in terms of player sales. The numbers he has recorded, which are mentioned above, show just how integral he has been to Celtic’s success. When looking at how the Bhoys would suffer without him, it is worth saying that the money being reinvested means they will probably still be able to keep their place as the best side in Scotland.
“However, they can forget success in Europe for the time being, unless they manage to pull of a real coup. This is not to say they won’t get another chance to impress on the biggest of stages again, as their scouting has shown it is good enough to make that happen, but it will take patience and an ability to hold onto their other assets to get there.”
Idiots Abroad: Do you know where these famous Brits are playing now?
Kealan Hughes
“Odsonne Edouard is a key figure in the current Celtic side because of the goals he scores, but he is far from irreplacable.
“Due to players like Ryan Christie and Callum McGregor the Bhoys will always create chances for their strikers, and if it wasn’t Edouard it would likely be someone else finding the back of the net in his palce.
“That isn’t to discredit the Frenchman, but Leigh Griffiths for example has nine goals in ten league starts, and that means Edouard’s replacement could easily find the target with the same ease.
“Olivier Ntcham also scored the winning goal in the brilliant victory over Lazio in Rome this year too, which shows his strengths, and that means Celtic could possibly even deal with Edouard’s exit without bringing anyone in.”
James Beavis
“Celtic have lost key players in Moussa Dembele and Kieran Tierney over the course of the previous two summer transfer windows, but they have hardly suffered as a result.
“It would be the same if Edouard did end up leaving for the English Premier League in the upcoming window, because the Hoops always seem to either already have a replacement for the player at the club, or a plan in place for who they could bring in.
“The Frenchman is actually an example of that himself, as he joined a few months before Dembele departed in the summer of 2018, meaning the Bhoys had a centre-forward to hit the ground running despite the disappointment of losing an important player to Lyon.
“Celtic fans should trust in Peter Lawwell and shouldn’t lose any sleep over the possibility of losing Edouard.”
In other transfer-related news, Celtic fans have been reacting to the club being linked with a Premier League player…