Ange Postecoglou is barely through the door but Celtic have already dealt the Australian with a colossal blow as he gears up for his Parkhead arrival.
The Hoops are faced with a situation where a number of their players could leave and with the transfer window on the verge of opening, that reality is edging ever closer.
What’s the word?
Odsonne Edouard has been primed for a Celtic exit for a while now.
He’s been linked with a plethora of Premier League clubs with West Ham and Arsenal showing an interest in the Frenchman over the last six months.
However, it looks as though the striker is set for a reunion with Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City instead.
The Times reported this weekend that the Foxes had won the race to sign Edouard in a £15m deal this summer.
The deal is set to be sanctioned as soon as their new manager arrives.
Colossal blow
Edouard may have downed tools towards the end of his time with Celtic but there is no denying that this is a monumental blow to the club’s ambitions.
The Bhoys endured a trophyless campaign and if they want to earn parity with Rangers as soon as possible they will need a goalscorer as fierce as the 23-year-old in their squad.
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If there was one shining light from the 2020/21 campaign for Celtic then it would be Edouard. It has always been the Frenchman when it’s come to beating the goalkeeper and without him, you have to fear the worse.
He scored 22 goals last term, taking his tally in the famous green and white to 83 in 168 outings.
The attacker has been their top scorer in all three seasons he’s enjoyed at Paradise, taking their attack to a new level after the departure of Moussa Dembele.
£15m is a decent sum for a player whose contract expires in a year’s time and it should enable them to invest healthily in the transfer window.
That being said, it is never easy replacing someone who scores so many goals. Celtic will no doubt have contingency plans in place but as Albian Ajeti and Patryk Klimala will tell you, it’s hard to fit in.
Ajeti has only bagged six goals after arriving from West Ham for £5m while Klimala left Glasgow after just a year in Scotland.
The Celtic hierarchy will need to have a plan in place here. Losing Edouard is quite possibly the biggest blow supporters could receive this summer.