Brighton have placed a £ 18.5m bid for Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard in a deal that could potentially break £ 20m in the future.
The 23-year-old is in the last year of his contract in Glasgow, which means that Hoops may be forced to sell his star attack this summer or face losing him for nothing at the end of the season.
Brighton have made an offer to Edouard / Ian MacNicol / Getty Images
And the Daily Record reports that Celtic have indeed received an offer of £ 18.5 million from Brighton for Edouard, which includes a series of additions and potential future bonuses, depending on what the Frenchman continues to achieve.
The sum of 18.5 million pounds will stand as a concrete initial fee, but Seagulls has also included performance-related bonuses totaling an additional 3.5 million pounds. In addition to that figure – which would send the transfer over £ 20 million – a sales clause of between five and 15% has also been offered if Brighton were to receive a bid north of £ 30 million for Edouard in the future.
Celtic are aware that they have some room to negotiate this summer, with Edouard’s contract expiring in 2022 and some signs of a new deal on the horizon. The Scottish giants know they may have to make money while they still can, as they do not want to lose their hitman for free in 12 months.
Meanwhile, Brighton are desperate to increase their attacking options after suffering a frustrating season in front of goal. Despite creating many opportunities and often winning matches on ‘xG’ (expected goals), the Seagulls failed to give up their chances and lost far too many points.
The arrival of Edouard means that they would have a proven goal scorer, having scored 21 and 16 league goals during their last two seasons at Celtic Park. The forward has even worked his way into France’s under-21 installation and is highly ranked around Europe.
It would certainly prove to be a big coup for Graham Potter and Brighton if they could lure Edouard to the south coast.
