Two weeks after the transfer window closed Napoli have been linked with a £30m move for Odsonne Edouard.
The Italian side face Liverpool tonight in the Champions League and were strongly linked with Kieran Tierney during the summer.
According to the Daily Mail their attention is now on Edouard who has started September with the opening goal in the Glasgow derby and four goals in two matches for the French u-21 side:
His pace, size and cool finishing style have prompted comparisons with compatriot Nicolas Anelka and clubs around Europe are taking a keen interest.
Sampdoria, Atalanta and Borussia Dortmund have all expressed firm admiration for the 21-year old but Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli are willing to make a substantial offer for a player Celtic value around £30million.
The story then takes a strange turn by crediting Mick Docherty and Lee Congerton for recruiting Edouard and claiming that Celtic opted to take the striker on loan in 2017 rather than pay a £5m free. When Celtic made the transfer permanent in 2018 it was for a club record fee of £9m.
Celtic fans are well used to this script with the final season’s of Virgil van Dijk and Moussa Dembele being played out against almost weekly transfer speculation.
Edouatd is under contract with Celtic until 2022 but if he continues to score for Celtic and France at the same rate as he has started this season a summer departure will be almost inevitable.
With his recent promotion to the French u-21 side the prospect of playing in next season’s Olympic Games increases with that tournament running at the same time as the UEFA qualifiers.