Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard will have a platform to showcase his credentials over the next few weeks with the Frenchman all set for the group stages of the under-21 European Championships straight after Sunday’s game against Rangers.
Part of the prestigious French squad who are favourites to win the tournament for the first time since 1988, Edouard is expected to lead the line for the three group games in Hungary against Russia, Denmark and Iceland.
The Celtic forward is the top goalscorer of all time at under-21 level for his country with 15 goals, 11 of which have been claimed from his last eight appearances for Sylvain Ripoll’s side. Edouard has claimed 21 goals so far this season for Celtic.
The 23-year-old – eligible to play at the under-21 tournament because of his age when the qualifiers began - is widely expected to leave Celtic this summer with former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers keen on taking the strike to Leicester while AC Milan, Roma and Aston Villa are all keeping tabs on the player who has a year remaining on his current deal.
It is understood that a prohibitive £40m fee last summer prevented a move for the striker away from Celtic as the club sought to prevent the loss of any key assets ahead of their quest to win the title this term. With PSG due a huge percentage of any sell on price, Celtic will look to get as high a fee as possible for the striker whom they paid a club record fee of £9m for in 2018.
Edouard has come alive for Celtic in some of the high profile games that he played against Rangers and in Europe with the next few weeks offering him the ideal stage on which to show his worth with a host of scouts from top level clubs all in attendance at the tournament.
There is little wonder that France are favourites to take the crown from current holders Spain. The French squad reads like a who’s who of European football, even allowing for the fact that the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Dayot Upamecano are eligible but will miss out because they are in the senior squad. Indeed, of the entire squad only Edouard is playing his football outwith a league in the elite top five.
The tournament was brought forward after the Euro 2020 was delayed because of Covid. To avoid a clash, UEFA brought forward the group stages of the under-21 competition and spead it across two international breaks. The group games will be played until March 31st with the knockout stages of the competition held between the end of May and the first week in June.
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