Odsonne Edouard puts Celtic on transfer alert as Leicester woes beggars belief (2025)

The Frenchman is completely out of favour at the Foxes and faces a bleak future at parent club Crystal Palace

No one could begrudge Odsonne Edouard of testing himself in the Premier League after four prolific years at Celtic.

But his success since tripling his salary down south is a candid reminder that life isn't always greener away from Parkhead.

While the jury remains out on the £20million splurged on Arne Engels and Adam Idah, there's no question that Edouard repaid his then-club record transfer fee and more throughout his trophy-laden stay in Glasgow.

Signed from PSG in 2018 after a sparkling loan stint, the £9m hitman plundered almost a century of goals to cement his status as a fans' favourite.

French Eddy - as he was affectionately known by the green-and-white faithful - was a constant thorn in Rangers' defence and delivered his weight of goals in Europe too, convincing Crystal Palace to complete a £14m swoop in 2021.

After a disastrous 10-in-a-row season, some fans had accused Edouard of downing tools - despite netting a more than respectable 22 goals. And a parting of ways probably arrived at the right time - with Japanese sensation Kyogo quickly making the Celtic faithful forget all about the Frenchman.

Four seasons later, Edouard finds himself at a career crossroads. Leicester City offered him the chance to relaunch his career last summer after falling out of favour at Selhurst Park - but the season-loan loan deal has been an utter disaster.

Despite being fit, Edouard hasn't kicked a ball for the soon-to-be-relegated Foxes since November 10 and has been included in just ONE matchday squad since Ruud van Nistelrooy took over the reins during the same month.

According to the Telegraph, Leicester paid a £2.5m loan fee and agreed to cover a hefty portion of his £90,000-a-week pay packet, a huge financial sacrifice when the club are desperately battling to comply with PSR.

Palace blocked attempts to rip up the calamitous agreement in January and Edouard now risks seeing out the campaign in the stands.

Speaking recently, Van Nistelrooy shed some light on the fringe man's lack of game time by ruling out the possibility of including two strikers on the bench, with Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka ahead of him in the pecking order.

The Dutchman said: "He has some minor issues that he couldn’t train, but most of the time he’s training, he’s competing for two places with Jamie and Patson, and so far, I’ve been picking the first two.

"Always (I have sympathy for him). He’s the one who is competing. If I see in training sessions that he can do something better or that he will be of more value than one of the other two, then he will be in the squad and will make minutes.

"That’s the competition. The ones who don’t play, they need to fight for their spot. The ones who play protect their spot. The ones who are not in the squad, they fight to be in. That’s what drives us and makes our squad better."

Now 27, Edouard faces a major decision over his future this summer. Clearly, he won't be offered a permanent deal to stay at the King Power.

He doesn't feature in the long-term plans of Eagles boss Oliver Glasner, either. A clean slate seems inevitable and with Celts in the hunt for a new goalscorer, Edouard may well be on Brendan Rodgers' radar.

The man who helped propel Edouard to stardom once described the skilful frontman as "one of the best young players I have worked with - his movement, his touch, his all-round play."

Under contract until 2027, it remains to be seen whether Edouard would be willing to return to Scottish football or take up another challenge elsewhere.

He reportedly rejected a £15m approach from big-spending MLS side Atlanta United earlier this season and his eye-watering wages would also be a major stumbling block.

However, it's clear Celtic still holds a place in the Treble-winning hero's heart after he appeared at the club's Player of the Year bash last season.

He said at the time: "I’m always happy to come back here to see all the players (and) all the fans. I follow every game like a fan, and I’m happy about the win yesterday, and I hope we finish well and win the title."

With Jota, Kieran Tierney and Rodgers all making fairytale returns to Parkhead, could Edouard become the next comeback Bhoy?

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