Odsonne Edouard can play for France in Euros, says Celtic boss

Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard celebrates after scoring his second goal of the night in the midweek win over Motherwell. Picture: Craig Foy/SNS

Edouard continued his current rich vein of form with a double for the Scottish champions in their 4-0 win at Motherwell on Wednesday night, taking his goal tally for the campaign to 24.

The 22-year-old has also scored a remarkable 11 goals in just six appearances for the French under-21 side this season.

World champions France have a rich pool of talent to call upon in the striking positions, with Barcelona’s Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain the leading picks in Deschamps’ squad.

But with out-of-favour Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud failing to secure a deadline day move which Deschamps stated was key to him retaining a place with France at Euro 2020, Edouard may be in contention for his country’s friendly fixtures against Ukraine and Finland next month.

“It would be a huge shot in the arm for Odsonne if France were watching him,” said Lennon. “I’m sure they are monitoring him very closely.

“His record with the French under-21s is excellent. But the senior squad are the World Cup winners and have such strength in depth, so I don’t know what his chances are for the Euros.

“He could play in most top leagues and for most top teams, no problem at all. His potential is massive. He’s not only done it at domestic level for us, he’s done it at European level as well.”

Lennon is bracing himself for big-money bids for Edouard this summer but insists the 22-year-old, whose contract at Celtic expires in 2022, does not have itchy feet.

“It’s inevitable he will attract interest,” said Lennon.

“But I don’t want to talk about that, I’m in a good mood right now!

“Don’t even ask me how much he is worth. Listen, we know [he’s not going to be here forever] but you’ll have to ask the board what their price is.

“You can see by the way he is playing that he is happy here and his representatives are also pretty happy with the way things are going. He’s a lovely

boy and is very easy to manage.

“We have a good relationship and I just want that to continue. That’s 24 goals he’s got now this season so I’m obviously delighted with his contribution and his

talent. At 22, he’s only going to get better.”