BRENDAN RODGERS has admitted he believes Odsonne Edouard is a class act and will prove his worth at celtic.
And the Hoops boss insisted he is not seen as a direct replacement for Moussa Dembele who left in a £19.7million deal for Lyon on transfer deadline day.
Edouard has struggled in recent weeks, but Rodgers reckons that has as much to do with the form of the team as that of the individual.
The Irishman said: “He’s more than just good, he’s a top-class player. For his age, one of the best I’ve worked with. He can do everything.
“He’s a different type to Moussa and Leigh – he’s a player who can play with any top striker.
“Is the problem that everyone sees him as a replacement for Moussa? Maybe – I don’t see him as that. It was never the idea.
“For us, it’s our whole team. Collectively, we’re not attacking at the same level.
“We’re defending strong, but have to continue to work and improve our combinations and our dynamic at the top of the field.
“It’s not a confidence issue with him, it’s the offensive side of our game as a whole, from back to front. It’s something we need to improve.
“As the season goes on, we’ll get better and he’ll get better.”
Edouard struck the club’s first competitive goal of the campaign when he scored on the stroke of half-time on the team’s way to an opening 3-0 win over Alashkert in the Champions League qualifiers.
The 20-year-old French ace scored two in the 3-1 victory over Rosenborg in July and his solitary effort in the Premiership was in the 3-1 opener against Livingston last month.
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