It is no secret that Celtic have been very open to the idea of bringing back former players during Brendan Rodgers' second stint as Parkhead boss. Jota, Kieran Tierney and Ross Doohan have all made returns. And earlier in the summer, there was talk of the club exploring the option of signing Odsonne Edouard from Crystal Palace.
Edouard was one of the biggest names in Scottish football when he left to join Crystal Palace in the summer of 2021. In the four years that have followed, he has not had one standout campaign.
Over three seasons with Crystal Palace, he managed to score just 21 times in total. He was out on loan at Leicester City last season and did not score once. As a result, a change of scenery had become a need.
Edouard looks set to get that change of scenery. He won't be returning to Celtic though. Instead, he is headed to Spain to join Girona, who are part of the City Football Group. The move will involve one of their players heading in the opposite direction as well, although both are separate deals.
Odsonne Edouard leaving Crystal Palace for shock fee amid Celtic return links
As reported by Santi Aouna, Arnau Martínez could leave Girona to join Crystal Palace. Edouard goes the other way for a flat €6 million fee. Deal almost agreed between both clubs.
That is a shockingly low transfer fee, to be honest. And one has to wonder why Celtic did not actually make their move if the French striker was available for €6 million.
He is proven in Scottish football and at Parkhead, does not have much of an injury history and at 27 years of age and with Premier League experience under his belt, might be only entering his prime on the pitch. It could have been a major coup for the Hoops and made this summer transfer window look very different than it does right now.
Of course, it is very possible that Edouard himself might not have been open to the idea. One has to remember, the move to Girona would keep him in a top-five European league. And he might feel that there is not much left for him to achieve in a Celtic jersey, which is somewhat true. He scored 89 goals and won plenty of trophies the first time around, including the Footballer of the Year for 2019-20.