Crystal Palace have been linked with a move for Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard as the club's new era under Patrick Vieira starts to take shape.

What's the story?

According to The Guardian, the highly-rated 23-year-old is a potential target for the south London outfit after working under Palace’s new development coach Saïd Aïgoun at Paris Saint-Germain’s academy.

Edouard was expected to seal a transfer to fellow Premier League side Leicester City earlier in the summer, but Brendan Rodgers opted for Patson Daka instead, leaving the door open for the Eagles to swoop.

The new Andy Johnson

Palace are set to embark on their ninth consecutive top-flight season next term, but their stay in the Premier League hasn't been marked by a prolific goalscorer or classic No.9.

The likes of Dwight Gayle, Jordan Ayew, Alexander Sorloth, Christian Benteke and Michy Batshuayi have all attempted to become the main man at Selhurst Park with varying degrees of success, but none has established themselves as a prolific, reliable goalscorer.

In fact, Palace haven't had that in the top division of English football since the 2004/05 season, when Andy Johnson bagged an incredible 21 league goals in 37 appearances.

His magnificent performances weren't enough to prevent the capital club from suffering relegation, though, and a move to Everton followed 12 months later.

However, after years of top-flight football, Palace now have a strong spine and decent core of established first-team players to support an elite-level striker, unlike when Johnson was at the peak of his powers.

And Edouard could be the perfect candidate to benefit from the foundations at Selhurst Park.

Since arriving at Celtic Park back in August 2017, the £15.3m-rated gem has established himself as one of Europe's most promising young forwards, bagging 83 goals and providing 27 assists in 169 appearances for the Hoops.

The former France Under-international's standout displays earned several plaudits, with former Celtic boss Neil Lennon labelling him "magnificent" after a match-winning performance.

In his last three campaigns with the Glasgow giants, Edouard has bagged a minimum of 22 goals in all competitions, one better than Johnson's famous tally 16 years ago, proving he can be Palace's new go-to man for goals.

It's a transfer that makes sense for many reasons, and chairman Steve Parish could provide new manager Vieira with a proven goalscorer by sanctioning a swoop for the Frenchman, a luxury few ex-Palace bosses have had.

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