LUBOMIR MORAVCIK has urged Odsonne Edouard to stay at Celtic, telling the forward he will walk into a club in the top four of the English Premier League if he continues his development in Glasgow for the timebeing.
The Celtic legend told Herald Sport that Edouard has the potential to reach a similar level to his former teammate Henrik Larsson, but that he should remain with the club to help them clinch 10 in-a-row at the very least.
Edouard is on the radar of several English top-flight outfits, with Crystal Palace and Leeds United just two of the clubs credited with an interest in the Frenchman, but Moravcik believes he should resist the urge to move south too early in his career.
“I think it’s important that he stays at Celtic for this season at least,” Moravcik said.
“He’s still young, so I’d like to see him stay at the club for another one or two seasons after that too, which he easily could.
“He has the potential to be a really top-level player like Henrik, but he’s not there yet.
“My opinion is that he should wait and only go to England when he is in the strongest position possible, and when he is really ready.
“If he wants to play every week in the Premier League at a good club, he will have to be a really strong player when he gets there.
“He is only 22, so the best thing would be to stay at Celtic for two or even three seasons to develop into the best player he can be.
“If he does that, by the time he is 25 he will be ready to go straight into a club in England’s top four.
“At Celtic, he can play in the Champions League or Europa League, and I’m certain he would be better off staying where he is for now.
“I think he has to prepare for a big move like that, and there is no better place than Celtic.
“Kieran Tierney is a good example. Ok, he is still young too, but he had a lot more appearances to his name for Celtic before going to Arsenal than Edouard does right now.”
Moravcik, now the vice-president of the Slovakian FA, was blown away by Edouard when he last saw him in the flesh in October,
“I saw him play for France under-21 against Slovakia and he scored a hat-trick against us,” he said. “He was a stand-out at that level.
“He’s doing so well in Scotland as well. He’s a very good player and he is scoring more and more goals every season.
“If I’m honest, I think that a club from England will come in for him in the future.
“For me though, he should stay at Celtic.”
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