There may, as Neil Lennon was at pains to point out on Friday, be no prospect of Celtic selling Odsonne Edouard during the January transfer window with the Parkhead outfit bidding to win a record-equalling ninth consecutive Scottish title and very possibly still involved in Europe.

Next summer, however, will be another matter entirely.

Police Scotland may well be required to kettle all of the club representatives from England and further afield who will be desperate to secure the services of the French striker down London Road to prevent unruly scenes from breaking out.

Lennon, who must take great credit for the huge strides forward that Edouard has made in recent months, last week admitted the hat-trick the player scored for his national under-21 team against Slovakia will increase interest in him. Sure enough, both Arsenal and Manchester United have been linked with the fans’ favourite since then.

It is inconceivable the treble treble winners will be able to hold onto the 21-year-old, who took his tally for the 2019/20 campaign to 11 with a well-taken brace in the 6-0 rout of Ross County on Saturday, if he carries on converting his chances with such regularity for both club and country and avoids serious injury.

After two and half seasons in Scotland it will be time, as Victor Wanyama, Virgil van Dijk and Moussa Dembele all did before him, for Edouard to move on and test himself at a higher level as well as increase his earnings. Offloading Edouard for a hefty profit will be in keeping with his employers’ long-standing business model.

Yet, the fee that Celtic will be able to demand for their prized asset, who cost them a club record £9 million from Paris Saint-Germain last summer, will also skyrocket as his star continues to rise.

How much will it take to land a 6ft 2in forward who is, despite his tender years, comfortable with and capable of leading the line, including against top class continental opposition, by himself, who can create as well as score goals and who has the best years of his career ahead of him? Upwards of £30 million is a conservative estimate.

If Oliver McBurnie can be bought by Sheffield United for £20 million following his efforts against Rotherham, Gillingham and Hull with Swansea last season then how much is a young man who has netted against Rosenborg, Salzburg, Leipzig, Cluj and, on more than one occasion, Rangers during his time in this country worth? He is a superior footballer, is a better age and has greater potential.

In the past, Celtic were unable to command the sort of sums that clubs down south could due to the low regard that domestic football in Scotland is held in. But the success of Van Dijk, as the sales of Dembele to Lyon for £20 million and Kieran Tierney to Arsenal for £25 million have shown, has changed that.

The supporters who revere the player and belt out “I Wanna Be Edouard” to the tune of the Stone Roses song “I Wanna Be Adored” whenever he hits the back of the net will doubtless be bereft when their hero departs.

But Edouard’s success, along with that of Wanyama, Van Dijk and Dembele, will make finding a replacement a relatively straightforward task. Agents of promising young players will be queuing up to offer their clients to Celtic given how spectacularly other little-known rough diamonds have progressed in the East End in the past.

And another thing

Robert Snodgrass’s decision to make himself unavailable for selection by Scotland during Alex McLeish’s second spell in charge of his country was seen by some as a clear indication there was unhappiness with both the manager and his methods within the national squad.

Snodgrass’s omission from the starting line-up was also considered unforgivable by many of McLeish’s critics. Here was an individual who was featuring regularly and performing well for West Ham in the Premier League in England. How could he possibly be left on the bench or even in the stand?

The midfielder’s return to the fray under Steve Clarke this year was hailed as a huge positive by those supporters and pundits who had been clamouring for his inclusion.

Yet, his subsequent performances, admittedly in difficult Euro 2020 qualifiers against Belgium at home and Russia away, have shown that the 32-year-old had no right to be considered an automatic selection.

The former Leeds United, Norwich City and Hull City man is certainly a fine footballer who brought experience and technical excellence to the Scotland side and also, on occasion, provided a vital cutting edge in attack.

But his ability to track back against opposition teams who dominate possession and play at a high tempo, like Belgium and Russia, was questionable. There were other individuals in the national set-up with far more to offer both out wide and up front just off a lone striker. Latterly, he was a good squad player, a useful weapon to deploy in certain circumstances, but nothing more.

That said, Snodgrass, who this week announced he would be retiring from international football after winning 28 caps and scoring seven goals over a nine year period, was a fine servant for his country.

An outgoing personality who was popular with his team mates, he enjoyed some memorable moments in the dark blue of Scotland, like netting against Croatia twice, bagging a hat-trick against Malta and supplying a late equaliser against Slovenia. He will be remembered fondly by fans for the quality of his play and the joy he gave them.