ODSONNE EDOUARD was nowhere to be seen as Leicester City were relegated from the Premier League at the weekend.
The one-time Celtic favourite, on a season-long loan at the Midlands club, has been shunned since the November arrival of Ruud van Nistelrooy as manager.
Edouard, who was the Hoops’ record buy at £9million when Brendan Rodgers signed him on a permanent deal from Paris Saint-Germain in June 2018, agreed the temporary transfer last summer.
The 27-year-old striker, who cost £15.5million when Patrick Vieira bought his fellow-Frenchman for Crystal Palace in August 2021, is clearly not wanted by Oliver Glasner who replaced the Arsenal icon 14 months ago.
HAPPY DAYS…Odsonne Edouard, chased by a delighted Dedryck Boyata, races away after scoring one of his double as Celtic romp to a 5-0 derby triumph to seal the title in April 2018.
After only two games this season, the Austrian sanctioned the move for Edouard to the King Power outfit, but things have gone disastrously wrong for the man who scored 86 goals for the Hoops.
Steve Cooper took him to City, but was sacked after a series of bad results and Van Nistelrooy hasn’t been able to steer the troubled side to safety.
The former Manchester United hitman tried to cut short Edouard’s stay and send him back to Palace in the January window, but the Selhurst Park hierarchy insisted on sticking to the original agreement.
Glasner admitted bluntly: “It makes no sense to bring him back because if he’s not playing at Leicester, then why should he play for Crystal Palace?”
Edouard has made only six outings for the strugglers and has failed to score. He is destined to go through the entire 2024/25 campaign without registering a solitary goal.
He will return to the London club in a couple of months’ time where he still has a year to run on his £70,000-per-week contract.
LITTLE BOY BLUE…Odsonne Edouard in one of his six appearances for Leicester City.
Edouard, according to reports at the turn of the year, knocked back a move to Atlanta United, who signed Giorgos Giakoumakis from Celtic in February 2023.
That looked like the ideal solution for the misfiring frontman because FIFA rules prevent him from turning out for more than two clubs in one season, but a move to USA would have been given the go-ahead.
The MLS transfer window closes at 11 o’clock this evening and, unless something dramatic emerges, Edouard will remain in limbo.
It’s a far cry for Edouard since his glory years at Parkhead where he won 11 honours, including four titles.
