West Ham United interested in Edouard but alternative could mean Celtic windfall | OneFootball

West Ham United are interested in signing Odsonne Edouard after the Frenchman’s deal to Leicester City appeared to collapse towards the end of last week. The Hammers, who sealed European Football next season after finishing six under former Celtic defender David Moyes. Now, Moyes is looking to strengthen with Edouard as a potential striking recruit with just Antonio as a striker ahead of the new season.

According to Football Insider, Edouard is seriously being considered by West Ham with the 23-year-old seemingly keen on heading for the Celtic exit door. The player scored 22 goals and assisted 6 times last season, meaning that Celtic can demand between £20-25m for the player. Edouard’s perfomances with L’Espoirs, where he notched 16 goals in 13 games for the French U21s, mean that his value will stay reasonably high for a player in the final year of his contract.

This may be part of the reason that he sees his career moving on from Celtic in the summer, with the option of taking the next step a natural progression for a player of his age and quality. West Ham, however, would be a sidewards step. Whilst they have enjoyed a good season, they may not re-sign Jesse Lingard and may sell Declan Rice, two of the key players involved in the success of last season.

West Ham may also have an eye on Edouard’s former teammate, Moussa Dembele. According to Football Espana, Diego Simeone has decided not to sign the player but West Ham may yet be interested. The 24-year-old scored 51 goals in 94 appearances across the two seasons, winning six trophies during his trophy-laden spell in Glasgow. However, Atletico Madrid appear to have passed up the opportunity to sign him on a permanent basis meaning that another club may be able to sign him for £29m this summer.

Celtic are believed to have a sell-on fee for Dembele, which would rake in a multi-million windfall if a deal can be sealed. Hopefully should a deal be agreed, this would maximise the value of Dembele to both Lyon and Celtic – pushing his value to the Scottish Champions up beyond the £20m. It would be an added boost to receive even a small sum from Dembele’s sale, which in truth, appears to have been hastily negotiated from a Celtic point of view.

Celtic may actually make money if West Ham decide to buy Dembele instead of Edouard. However, the club still need to sort out Edouard’s future in the hope that the club can achieve the best possible outcome for player, team and commercially.