Why Crystal Palace signing Odsonne Edouard would be a terrific move
According to The Sun, Crystal Palace are planning to make a £20m move for Celtic’s French striker Odsonne Edouard in January.
The striker joined Celtic initially on a loan deal and after one season at Glasgow’s East End, he signed permanently for them in the summer of 2018, from Paris Saint Germain.
The 21-year-old never got a chance to display his talent at PSG and since moving to the Scottish Premiership, he has gone on to become their main force in the attack.
In his two years with Celtic, he has made 105 appearances and has scored 45 times. He has won 6 trophies and will be hoping to add another Scottish Premiership to his name at the end of the season.
This season, he has scored and assisted 12 times each for Celtic and is currently in 3rd position in the league’s top-scorers’ chart, behind Jermain Defoe and Alfredo Morelos.
On the other hand, Crystal Palace are in lack of goals. With just 10 goals in 13 games, the Eagles would find Odsonne Edouard to be the missing link in their attacking ranks. Jordan Ayew has been their top scorer this season with 4 goals in the league and the other two centre-forwards, Benteke and Connor Wickham, are yet to open their account.
This is where manager Roy Hodgson must look to improve the squad and Edouard would fit in given his goalscoring prowess in the Scottish Premiership. Rather than depending on Benteke and Jordan Ayew to bang in the goals, the French striker would be a better option up front.
Eduardo has been performing consistently in the last two years and Neil Lennon’s Celtic side are on top of the table on same points with Rangers but leading them in terms of goal difference.
The youngster could be deployed alongside Zaha and Jordan Ayew, and there might be chances for him to be the difference in the team.
According to whoscored, Edouard has an average of 2.5 shots, 2 key passes and a pass success rate of 70%. His average could only get better with age as he would get a lot of playing time.
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Verdict
The inclusion of Edouard in the Crystal Palace squad in January would kick-start their hopes of finishing in the top half of the table and may also help them push for a place to compete in Europe next season. Therefore, his signing could be terrific for the Eagles.
If Crystal Palace manage to get Edouard for £20m, it would be a huge steal given his obvious quality in front of goal.