Celtic made a profound and emphatic statement to the rest of Scottish football on Friday afternoon as they unveiled their ‘record breaking’ signing.
Odsonne Edouard made the familiar trip to Glasgow in order to sign a four-year deal which will see him be a big part of the side going for ten in a row.
This time last year, everyone was told Edouard’s buyout clause and accepted that he was here for just one season.
The figure at the time was touted as £7million but in reality, it was higher – to sign him on a permanent deal was unthinkable.
The striker had to wait for his opportunity at Celtic Park with both Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele outranking him at the start of last season.
However, Edouard would get his chance and he would take it! Scoring his first senior hat-trick against Motherwell, scoring a winning goal at Ibrox when Celtic were down to ten men and having balls of steel to score a brace on the day Celtic clinched the title.
Unfortunately, an injury at Tynecastle forced the big man to miss the rest of the season.
Many believed it could be the last we saw of the Frenchman, especially with the transfer fee involved.
The man himself never gave up hope of signing on a full time basis and even told the Celtic fans after the Scottish Cup Final that ‘this was just the beginning of his story’.
Celtic worked tirelessly to make sure the deal happened and put up big money to secure his signature.
Edouard will now jing up with his teammates on Monday to begin preparation for Champions League football – something the striker will desperate to be involved in.
