Eddy is the best hitman since Henrik
ANDY WALKER reckons Odsonne Edouard is the best Celtic striker since Henrik Larsson.
But he has warned Hoops fans not to expect the hitman to hang around as long as the super Swede.
Aston Villa are the latest to join the growing list of clubs in England who are keeping tabs on the French ace after he got the season off to a flier with a hat-trick against Hamilton.
Edouard is already on the radar of former boss Brendan Rogers at Leicester and Arsenal are long-term admirers.
In his Sky Sports column former Celtic striker Walker said: “I enjoyed a chat with Martin O’Neill on Sunday and he was in no doubt that Edouard is the finest striker to wear the Hoops since Henrik Larsson.
“That’s a massive compliment. John Hartson scored more than a century of goals for the club. O’Neill also signed Chris Sutton. He too was a huge success, as were the strikers that followed them – Georgios Samaras, Gary Hooper, Kris Commons, Scott McDonald and Leigh Griffiths.
“A more up-to-date comparison for Edouard would be his fellow Frenchman Moussa Dembele. He played with Celtic under Brendan Rodgers for a couple of years before Lyon paid almost £20million for him.
“The speculation now is that Dembele could end up at Old Trafford with United forced to pay a massive fee.
“Edouard is every bit as talented, if not more so, and it’s easy to imagine him starring for a club as big as Manchester United.
“Maybe even Rodgers would like him to help Leicester maintain their ambitions in the top half of the table. There’s a style and panache about Edouard that sets him apart from the rest.
“Absolutely, he could play in the Premier League or anywhere else in Europe for that matter. I think he’d be a huge success at one of the top six clubs in England.
“At 22 his game will only improve and I suppose the biggest wish for Celtic fans is that their French Eddy stays as long as the magical Swede Larsson did, but I think it’s highly unlikely.
“Larsson was happy enough to be with Celtic for seven seasons, enjoying one of the best atmospheres any player could dream about when Celtic are on Champions League duty under the lights in the east end of Glasgow. Believe me, there’s nothing quite like it.”