Boss keeping faith in Edouard despite deadline closing in
THE Parkhead bean counters may disagree, but Ange Postecoglou admits he will be delighted to see Odsonne Edouard remain at Celtic beyond Tuesday’s transfer deadline.
Hotly tipped for a move in each of the last three windows, the French striker is now in the final year of his contract and has yet to seal an exit out of Glasgow.
A bid from Brighton earlier this month foundered, while — despite overtures from Everton and Crystal Palace — no concrete offers are on the table for the club’s most saleable asset.
Former manager Neil Lennon recently admitted that Edouard made it clear he wanted to leave in the summer of 2020, but new boss Postecoglou insists the 23-year-old has remained a diligent trainer and he has repeatedly played him since the start of the season.
Whether Edouard starts against Rangers today remains to be seen, but having watched the forward perform effectively as a substitute to help ease Celtic into the group stage of the Europa League on Thursday, Postecoglou has no qualms over his ongoing worth to the team.
He said: ‘No one can tell me they are watching Odsonne play just now and say he is not giving everything. Even on Thursday, I thought that he came on and made a real difference for us.
‘We didn’t start with him because I felt they would come at us. And with the speed of Kyogo (Furuhashi) and Liel (Abada) and Ryan Christie wide, we could get into the space behind them and cause some problems.
‘I had the feeling we would need Odsonne later to hold the ball up and he did his job superbly for us. He scored on the weekend, he is in good form. There is no hesitation whatsoever for me to select him on Sunday.’
Nevertheless, today could prove to be Edouard’s last match day as a Celtic player, with Greek striker Giorgos Giakoumakis rumoured to be closing in on a move to Parkhead. And there also remains a question mark over the future of Christie, whose contract expires in January. Postecoglou added: ‘I will be happy if they all stay. I’ve said before that I am not going to convince anyone to stay, but they are quality players. ‘Odsonne and Ryan are the ones people are speaking about most — they have both been fantastic since I have come in with their attitude and the way they train.
‘If they stay, great, but I also know that these are decisions for them. They know what is best for their careers and their lives.
‘If it so happens that they leave in this window then they do so on the best possible terms. ’
At the behest of manager Postecoglou, Celtic chief executive Dominic McKay is still locked in talks with Christie’s representatives over a lucrative new deal. ‘There’s no real update on that right now,’ added the Celtic boss. ‘There is a dialogue but nothing significant yet.’
VVV Venlo director of football Stan Valckx has insisted that Giakoumakis is on the brink of agreeing on a move to Celtic after the clubs settled on a £2.1 million fee.
The striker was left out of his club’s 1-0 defeat to Jong AZ Alkmaar on Friday night and Valckx said: ‘We have agreed a transfer fee with Celtic. It’s now up to the player himself to discuss terms with the club for the deal to be completed.’