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da bet vitoria： The emergence of Odsonne Edouard as Celtic’s main striker has been one of the feel-good stories at Celtic Park over the last season.
The young Frenchman has excelled with the responsibility of finding goals in big matches, the perfect example being his superb double that broke Hearts during last month’s Scottish Cup Final at Hampden.
Nonetheless, when you consider what the Celtic squad was last summer compared to this summer, you’ll note that a direct replacement for Moussa Dembele has not been found by the Hoops and it’s something they need to address in the upcoming transfer window.
Keith from C’mon the Hoops throws back to player who was both a Hoop by name and by nature in the video below…
On the chalkboard
It’s easy to think of Edouard as Dembele’s successor but it must be remembered that the 21-year-old had spent the prior season on loan at Celtic from Paris Saint-Germain.
The Hoops had a strike-force of Dembele, Edouard and Leigh Griffiths, as formidable as it gets in comparison to most teams in British football.
Dembele left under a cloud to join Lyon at the end of last summer’s transfer window, with the club having no time at all to find an adequate replacement.
In January reinforcements were sought but the loan moves for Oliver Burke and Timo Weah didn’t quite work out like everyone would have hoped and the capture of Vakoun Bayo has yet to pay off in any meaningful way.
The Ivorian has managed just a single minute of action since joining from Slovakian side Dunajska Streda.
With Griffiths also struggling with off-pitch issues, Celtic haven’t had viable competition for Edouard for a number of months now.
Summer investment
It’s not feasible to think Celtic can enter the transfer market and sign another striker for a fee approaching £10m, but they do need quality in the forward areas ahead of the new season and fans will be expecting some sort of investment to be made in the position.
Maryan Shved is arriving from Ukraine but he plays predominately on the wing and isn’t the savvy, physical type that can rough up Scottish defenders like Dembele.
If Celtic are to play more direct, incisive and quicker football next season then they need an option who can either play alongside Edouard or be good enough to perhaps shift the 21-year-old out on to the left flank.
One look at the Hoops’ defensive line-up heading into the summer will tell you that’s the massive priority for Neil Lennon, but the new Celtic manager can’t sleep on reinforcements in the final third either or it could prove costly. A true Dembele replacement is still needed.