Aston Villa boss Dean Smith should look to gazump Leicester in their bid to sign Celtic's Odsonne Edouard, amid Gabby Agbonlahor's transfer claim.

What's the story?

Reports in recent weeks and months have suggested that the Hoops' striker is someone Dean Smith's side are looking at, but they now appear to face increasing competition in the race to sign him, with claims that Leicester are keen on tying up a deal.

Now, Agbonlahor has urged his former side to act, and insisted that Edouard could be the perfect foil for Watkins as either some much-needed cover or someone to play with him.

He said: "I’ve said it for so long about Edouard, I rate him highly. If I had the money, I’d buy him myself. I think he’s outstanding and I’d love him at Aston Villa as the second striker behind Watkins.

"I think he’d be an outstanding player to bring on during games or to help Watkins. I think Aston Villa should hijack Leicester and go and get him. I watched him and he reminds me of (Moussa) Dembele when he was at Celtic. They’re both similar players and at his age, he can only get better."

Lange must act

Given that Leicester haven't yet signed him up just yet, Johan Lange still has the perfect chance to act and steal a march on the Foxes and seal a deal for Edouard.

The £13.5m-rated marksman has bagged an impressive 83 goals in just 168 games for Celtic and has even managed a very decent total of 37 assists too.

His former Celtic boss, Neil Lennon, has previously raved about the qualities that Edouard brings to the table, and it's a ringing endorsement of why Villa should be going after him.

He said: "He's hugely important (to us), he's an outstanding footballer, talismanic almost, he's so talented, so cool and he had two great finishes. He's up there with some of the best we've had over the last 20 odd years."

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If Villa are looking for someone to provide some competition for Watkins, then Edouard fits that bill to a tee. With Celtic in the midst of a rebuild under a new manager, the Midlands club could swoop in and take advantage of the likely disruption the Hoops find themselves in at the moment.

Meanwhile, Villa could form a superb partnership with this star...