Charlie Nicholas has claimed that Odsonne Edouard will decide when he leaves Celtic, while insisting that he doesn’t expect Arsenal to come in for him this summer.
The Gunners have been strongly linked with his signature amidst uncertainty over key star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but Nicholas doesn’t expect them to come calling for the French goalscorer this summer.
The Sky Sports pundit goes onto claim that he thinks he would flourish in a side like Leeds or Leicester, whilst adding that the player has the ‘power’ over when he will move.
Nicholas told Express Sport: “I know Edouard is still under contract but the player still holds all the power.
“If he decides he wants to leave then it will happen, that has been shown with Moussa Dembele, Virgil van Dijk and Kieran Tierney in the past.
“For Edouard to leave I do think it would take a sizeable fee, whether that is £25 million or £30 million.
“People argue he is worth more than Tierney because he is a striker and he gets goals but the problem is that the market has changed dramatically post-Covid-19.
“I don’t see Arsenal making a move for him but I could see Everton, West Bromwich Albion, Leeds United or Leicester City making bids.
“Leicester is the one of interest because Brendan Rodgers rates him so highly and was the one who signed him for Celtic.
“He knows he can trust Edouard to play the way he wants.
“That is important because I don’t see him fitting into an Everton or a Newcastle, but he might suit a Leeds United and would also do well at Leicester.
“He has to go to a club that suits his style because he knows that when he does leave and goes to the Premier League he is probably walking into a £100,000-a-week contract.
“They have six weeks, which is a long time, to wait until the transfer window closes.
“If they can keep him then he is key to Celtic winning 10 and it is no secret that winning this league is everything to the club.
“If Edouard wants to leave then it will happen.”
Arsenal currently look like they will be able to persuade their star-striker to stay on into the new season now, which would likely see no major additions up top, but Edouard wouldn’t be a bad shout if they were to lose PEA, or even Lacazette.
The Frenchman is also linked with a possible exit, but whether Edouard is keen to quit the club ahead of making history with Celtic as they pursuit 10 league titles in a row remains to be seen.
Would Edouard have his heart set on making history with Celtic or does his ambition lie elsewhere?
Patrick