WHO is better Odsonne Edouard or Alfredo Morelos? That is the question that has sparked heated debate among Celtic and Rangers fans over the past few years and will no doubt continue to do so until the pair inevitably move on to bigger and better things.

For Hoops supporters it is a no brainer, with Edouard scooping the Premiership top goal scorer award last term with 28 goals in 45 appearances.

Those of an Ibrox persuasion though maintain that Morelos is the best striker in Scotland with his record in Europe boasting an impressive 18 goals over the past two seasons in the Europa League.

John Barnes scored his fair share of goals during a trophy laden career for both club and country, but he reckons the pair should both be held in high esteem and appreciated as individuals instead of being compared against one another.

Quizzed on who is the better player, Barnes said: “Well, I mean, Edouard has won league. Celtic have won the league for the last few years, and he's been a consistent player. But Morelos has also been very good for Rangers.

“Edouard is probably more of a team player. If you look at what he gives to the team.

“Whereas, Morelos scores a lot of goals, and he's much more of an individual. They're both equally effective, but I think that Edouard is more of a team player, whereas Morelos is more of an individual.”

Barnes, who had a spell as manager of Celtic during the 1999/00 season, also insists the striking duo would be well suited to the Premier League if they made the decision to move down south.

He added: “They've got the quality. I don't know whether they've got the quality to play for Liverpool, or Manchester City, or Chelsea, but they've definitely got the quality to play in the Premier League.

“Maybe not the better clubs. Maybe a smaller one. I don't think either of them are going to come and take the place of Mo Salah or Roberto Firmino or first team players at Manchester City or Chelsea.

“Playing in the Premier League, I think they could both do well.”

Edouard has been linked with a move away from Parkhead this summer with Newcastle, Leeds, Crystal Palace and Arsenal all reportedly keeping tabs on his transfer situation.

And Barnes doesn’t believe the Frenchman is key to the Hoops securing ten-in-a-row next season.

He continued: “Celtic have a stronger squad than Rangers. Rangers are improving all the time, after Steven Gerard, they got better year after year.

“But Celtic will still be favourites, so I don't necessarily think that they'll have to keep Edouard to win the league, because I'm sure if they sell him, they will replace him.

“I think that Celtic are better placed at this moment in time to win 10-in-a-row. But I don't think they necessarily need to keep him to do that.

“Obviously you want to keep your best players, but of course, up in Scotland, people know that.

“As you see with Virgil Van Dijk and Moussa Dembele before him, players who do well at Celtic, then they will go to a place where they're going to get more money.

“So, I'm sure that if he goes, they will have somebody lined up to replace him.”

Ahead of next season Barnes believes his former side will have a real fight on their hands with Rangers going all out to stop Celtic’s historic title bid.

Steven Gerrard’s team were 13 points behind Neil Lennon’s side last term before the season was curtailed early due to the coronavirus crisis.

But despite the gap, Barnes believes Rangers are getting closer to ending the trophy drought.

He said: “Four years ago, when Rangers came up, they didn't have the financial clout to get the best players to compete with Celtic.

“Rangers are a big club, with a big fan base, and the longer they are in the Premiership, the stronger they will become.

“I don't think they're quite there yet. But it's good for Scottish football that at least it's not just all about one team, because of course the Scottish football league, is strong and interesting.

“You really do need a strong Celtic/Rangers confrontation.

“They're getting closer to Celtic. They've actually beaten them on one or two occasions.

“Not in terms of the size of the clubs, but off the pitch, Rangers aren't as close to Celtic as they'd like.

“They draw closer every year. I still think Celtic will win it next year, but I think Rangers will be, once again, getting closer.”

John Barnes was speaking to BonusCodeBets.co.uk.