New Bhoy Edouard raises temperature in Paradise as Rodgers hails arrival of French teen sensation
AS Celtic prepared to kick off a glittering Champions League schedule against Paris Saint-Germain, much of the pre-match chatter surrounded the capture of Odsonne Edouard from the French aristocrats.
There was some excitement at Brendan Rodgers’ capture of the French youth international on loan and the deal was lent further intrigue when it emerged the forward would be eligible to face his parent club in the European fray.
After impressing on a scoring debut against Hamilton Accies the previous Friday night, Edouard did indeed feature on matchday one but by the time he climbed off the bench to replace Leigh Griffiths, Celtic were already 3-0 down.
The teenager was expected to kick on but instead he disappeared. He did not even make the bench for the next four group fixtures against Anderlecht, Bayern Munich (twice) and PSG, and seemed in danger of fading to oblivion, or at least being packed home early in the January transfer window.
Having pounced on a rare start against Motherwell last weekend (only his third for the club) to score a hat-trick, Edouard has suddenly reclaimed prominence. With Moussa Dembele toiling up top against Anderlecht in the final group game last Tuesday, Rodgers decided Edouard — and not Griffiths — represented the best option to close out the match and secure the narrow defeat that would ensure European involvement after Christmas.
What Griffiths made of his manager’s decision remains unknown but it looks like we’ll be seeing much more of the 19year-old during a packed schedule heading into the winter break.
‘Odsonne has been really unfortunate,’ explained Rodgers. ‘He’s come in as a big talent after being voted in the 100 top young players under 21 in the world. He’s come here with a view to develop and get better. He’s walked out of 35 degrees in Paris to here in the cold weather without speaking the language, with new teammates. It takes time.’
So much for the excuses. Rodgers offers more than a hint that Edouard did himself few favours with his early showings on the training ground — a summit between manager and player was called, with coach Kolo Toure present as a sort of mediator.
‘The form of the other two has restricted him,’ continued Rodgers. ‘In his first game at Hamilton, he was great, against Hibs he didn’t perform as he would want. Kolo and I had a chat with him in terms of expressing the demands of a big club.
‘You can be as talented as you want but you have to be on it every day in training.
‘At lesser clubs, you could not do so well in training and know you are going to play. That’s why some players go to a big club and wonder why they suffer. At the big club, you need to be on it every single day of your life.
‘There has been a clear change in his performance level in training which you see in the game.’
Celtic incorporated in an option to buy in the deal which brought Edouard to Scotland and, with speculation over Dembele’s future this week incorporating a fresh link with Brighton, there could soon be a striking vacancy to fill.
Rodgers covets a run in the Europa League in the new year and, even with Dembele in the ranks, the testing Thursday/Sunday schedule would offer Edouard a chance to prove himself.
‘The penny has dropped with him,’ added Rodgers. ‘In training he’s now aggressive, he’s no longer timid, he has a high level of technique, knows the game tactically and is strong and fast.
‘I now have no qualms over him playing if I feel the game needs a certain type of player in that central corridor to play, sprint, work and to score goals.
‘Hopefully, from now through until the end of the season, you see the talent whether he’s playing or coming off the bench.’
The presence of Toure, a Treble winner last season and famed for his past exploits with Arsenal and Manchester City, has helped provide a bridge to the Frenchspeaking youngsters in the group.
Edouard and Eboue Kouassi look up to the Ivorian but so do Dembele and Olivier Ntcham, even if they are less in need of acclimatisation after their spells in English football.
‘Kolo came in as a coach but having that connection is good,’ continues Rodgers.
‘It’s important there is someone other than a manager who can be a symbol to those guys and someone to have a rapport with.
‘They see someone who has been a huge success in Britain during his career.
‘But it’s also important you have the right one of those. If players come in and see how honest and professional that guy is, they follow. If you get the wrong one, you can be dancing.
‘Kolo does like to do a dance, but at the right moment.’