West Ham chase £35m man amid ‘desperate’ striker search, 23y/o keen on London switch – report
West Ham are reportedly keen to secure the services of £35million-rated Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard but the 23-year-old prefers a move to Arsenal or Tottenham.
That is according to a reported by the Daily Star on the French U-21 international who is into his fourth season at the Scottish Premiership side now.
He lit up the league last season scoring 22 times in 27 games before the pandemic shut down Scottish football but he has enjoyed less success this season registering just seven strikes in 15 Premiership appearances.
According to the Daily Star Irons boss David Moyes is desperate to sign a striker and is ready to move for Edouard, who ‘ticks all the boxes’ as he looks to replace the recently departed Sebastien Haller.
However, they also report that while Edouard is keen on a move to London, he would rather make the switch to Premier League rivals Spurs or Arsenal who are more ‘established top six sides’.
With a week remaining of the transfer window this would be a big blow to Moyes if he really is a top target as time is ticking for the Irons to secure a striker who can compete with Michail Antonio up front.
Realistic capture
While Edouard may prefer a move to London rivals Spurs and Arsenal an idea of a move to either of those sides seems rather fanciful so there is definitely reason to believe that a deal can still be secured.
Celtic are out of the Europa League and a distant 23 points behind Rangers in the race for the league so Edouard has no reason to sit it out and wait for an end-of-season move.
Spurs currently possess England captain Harry Kane and Carlos Vinicius as their strikers and seem well stocked in this area while Arsenal can count on the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette and have other more pressing positions to target in their team.
This opens up the possibility of West Ham and with the Irons riding high in seventh and chasing European football next season the London Stadium is surely an attractive proposition for Edouard.
While this season has not been the happiest of times for Eduoard he has proven himself to be a prolific scorer in Scotland and he also has three goals in six Europa League appearances this season showing that he can adapt to more elite level competition.
With a lack of talent available in January and the shortage of strikers at West Ham this is certainly a deal Moyes should be aggressively pursuing.
In other West Ham news, this Serie A striker is reportedly on the Irons’ wishlist.