Arsenal will reportedly battle it out with rivals Leicester City for the signing of Celtic’s French goalscorer Odsonne Edouard in the summer transfer window.
According to a report from The Telegraph, Premier League giants Arsenal are keen on signing Odsonne Edouard from Celtic in the upcoming summer but will have to compete with Leicester City for his transfer.
Edouard, 23, came through the ranks at Paris Saint-Germain, where he developed quite a reputation for his prolific goalscoring record throughout his youth career. A loan move to Celtic ensued in 2017 and after a solid season at Parkhead, his transfer was made permanent for a club record fee. Since then, the Frenchman has only gone from strength to strength, affirming his status as the best striker in display in the Scottish Premiership.
Edouard played an integral role in Celtic’s unparalleled domestic success in the past couple of seasons. And even though the Bhoys were knocked from their perch by Rangers this term, the striker has emerged with a lot of credit, having scored 20 goals and set up five more in 35 matches across all competitions.
With Edouard’s contract set to expire in a year, a number of clubs are lining up tolikrlu sign him this summer, with Arsenal said to be among his suitors. This is not the first time that the Gunners have been linked with the Frenchman. And given their current predicament, it is understandable as to why they would want to sign him up.
Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has endured one of his poorest campaigns and there have been murmurs of Arsenal being open to cashing in on him just a year after handing him a new bumper contract. In addition, both Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are entering the last year of their contracts with the club and will likely be sold in the upcoming window.
So, signing someone like Edouard would help them offset their potential departures at the end of the season. However, they will have to wage battle with Leicester, who are also long-term admirers of the 23-year-old. The Foxes, too, are in need of reinforcements at the top as Jamie Vardy enters the twilight of his career.
Even though Kelechi Iheanacho has been in top form of late, Leicester must bring in another striker so that they can take the next step from challenging for top four to becoming title contenders. Edouard, given his prolific record at Celtic – 81 goals, 36 assists in 163 appearances – can be an asset for Brendan Rodgers, who knows the striker very well from his Celtic days.
The report adds that Edouard is likely to cost around £15-20 million, a figure that Arsenal are hoping to get from the sale of Lacazette, so they can invest it into the Celtic striker’s signing. However, Leicester are said to be the front-runners for his signing as things stand. It remains to be seen if Arsenal are able to change that in the coming months or decide to pursue alternate targets such as Andre Silva of Eintracht Frankfurt.