Arsenal to step up their interest in Odsonne Edouard

Arsenal will be looking to step up their pursuit of the highly-rated Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard should Alexandre Lacazette departs London.

Edouard has emerged as one of the highly sought-after forwards in Europe after producing an astonishing season with Celtic.

The Paris Saint-Germain youth academy graduate made his predatory instincts plain for everyone to see last season. His tally of 27 goals netted in 45 competitive outings for Celtic has not gone unnoticed.

Several Premier League clubs have already registered an interest in the 22-year-old Frenchman. But, Arsenal seem to be leading the chase after presenting their first official bid to the Scottish champions.

Despite seeing their initial £15million approach rejected by Celtic, the Gunners have prepared an improved one.

According to TheTransferWindow podcast, the Londoners are readying a bid of £20million plus £2.5million in add-ons to get their hands on Edouard.

Such a proposal would not bring them much closer to Celtic’s valuation of their prized asset that currently stands at £40million.

Edouard was crowned the Premiership top-scorer last season and has carried his predatory form into 2020/21. The youngster has already fired in four goals in as many games across all competitions.

But, his arrival at the Emirates hinges on whether or not Arsenal can sell Alexandre Lacazette.

The 29-year-old Frenchman is a transfer target for Atletico Madrid and Juventus. The Gunners value their star forward at €40million but are also willing to use him as a makeweight in a deal to bring in Thomas Partey.

The Ghanaian remains Arteta’s dream target, but Diego Simeone is hell-bent on keeping hold of his anchor midfielder.