Odsonne Edouard arrives in south London having scored three goals already in the 2021/22 Scottish Premiership.
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Crystal Palace have signed Odsonne Edouard from Celtic on a four-year deal. The 23-year-old striker arrives in south London having scored three goals already in the 2021/22 Scottish Premiership. This takes his tally with Celtic to an impressive 86 goals from 179 appearances. Edouard becomes the seventh signing under Patrick Vieira. The footballer began his career in France with AF Bobigny and the Paris Saint-Germain Academy after being born in French Guiana. Edouard came to the fore in PSG’s development system as a prolific forward, netting over 60 goals in two seasons across teams. He further bagged 17 goals from 15 France Under-17 appearances, showcasing his prowess at the international level.
“I’m very happy to be here today. I can’t [wait] to start to train with the team and to play for this club. I watch a lot of Premier League games. Watched the game last week, Palace against West Ham, and thought it was a good game for the team with two beautiful goals. Scoring goals in the Premier League may be the biggest challenge in my career. But I’m confident in myself and my teammates to be successful,” said Edouard as quoted by Palace’s official website.
The footballer termed the opportunity to play under Vieira as a major factor behind his decision to join the English club. Edouard further hailed Crystal Palace’s gameplay, with special words of praise for the level of the players.
“The way the team play, the level of the players there, the new manager (when asked about the reasons behind signing for Palace). For me as well it’s a new challenge, the best league for me so I can’t say no to this team. He’s (Patrick Vieira) a French legend. In France everyone knows him. So for me it’s big to play for him and I’m looking forward to progressing a lot with him. It’s a big challenge for me. It’s a big change. I am 23-years-old now and feel I am ready for this new challenge.”
The attacker admitted that it was very hard for him to learn a new language after moving from France to Glasgow. However, he is now comfortable with the same, expressing a desire to play and score as much as possible.
“It was very hard for me in the beginning. But I had to learn English to speak with my teammates and for finding everything in the town. Now I’m good at this and that’s good for me. My target is to play as much as possible and to score as much as possible,” he concluded.
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish hailed Edouard as a player of proven quality, who was in high demand.
“Odsonne is a player of proven quality. He was a player in high demand and I’m delighted he chose to join Crystal Palace as another fantastic addition to our squad,” he stated.
A right-footed forward, Edouard is not the sort of player to simply contribute a goal a game and little else. Instead, he claimed 39 assists for Celtic (from 179 appearances) and is happy to drop deeper, collect the ball with confidence, and ensure an attack continues until it returns to him further up the pitch.
