Ex-Celtic striker Chris Sutton is adamant that Odsonne Edouard should have a minimum asking price of £40m following his superb form for the Hoops this season.

The TV pundit cited the signings of Joelinton for Newcastle and Sebastien Haller for West Ham as two reasons why Celtic should refuse to sell Edouard for a lower amount:

“The French kid is the real deal. With every passing week, Edouard gets more and more impressive and he’s going to the very top. Anyone with a semblance of footballing sense can see that.”

“Assessing some of the transfer fees which are being bandied about for average players, the rate of inflation and the premium which is added to the cost for top-class strikers, I genuinely believe £40m is a realistic sales figure. I’ll get shot down for that, but why?”

“Newcastle United paid £40m in the summer for Brazilian striker Joelinton after he scored 22 league goals in four years at Hoffenheim and Rapid Vienna. He’s never been capped beyond Under-17 level and he’s got two for the Magpies all season. No offence to the lad, but have you seen Joelinton play? Are you telling me he’s better than Edouard? Seriously? West Ham paid £45 million for Sebastian Haller, who has done little.”

It’s very hard to argue against Sutton’s point. Although Haller did score 20 goals in all competitions last season, five of those came in 10 appearances in the Europa League.

In contrast, Edouard has scored four in just seven games in Europe this season, and his 19 league goals have spearheaded Celtic’s title challenge.

Joelinton is an even more unfavourable comparison with the Brazilian having scored just 11 last campaign, and only one in the Premier League this season. Considering he cost £40m and is a year older than Edouard, Sutton has made a strong case that the Frenchman should at least have a commensurate market value.