Scottish Premiership giants Celtic missed out on Dominic Solanke when he joined Liverpool last summer – but then went out and signed PSG’s Edouard.
Dominic Solanke swapped Chelsea for Liverpool last summer in search of more regular first-team football, but with his debut season just two months away from being completed, the 20-year-old striker has made just three Premier League starts under Jurgen Klopp.
And while Solanke has admitted to The Telegraph that he is a little frustrated about his lack of minutes at Anfield, the England U21 star insists that he is happy with life on Merseyside – and concedes that there is some rather talented forwards ahead of him in the pecking order.
Nonetheless, it is tempting to wonder whether a move to Celtic would have been better for his development.
The Daily Record claimed last summer that Celtic were keen to pounce when his contract at Chelsea expired, and in Brendan Rodgers, Solanke would have worked under a manager renowned for kick-starting young players’ careers.
The Hoops, however, will probably not be regretting their failure to get the deal over the line, because in Odsonne Edouard, the reigning Scottish Premiership champions have a young striker on their books who is arguably even more talented.
Fellow 20-year-old Edouard is on loan at Parkhead from PSG and, after a sluggish start, is beginning to emerge as one of Celtic’s key players. He has now scored six goals in 10 league starts, including a sublime winner away at Old Firm enemies Rangers, and appears well placed to earn a permanent contract at Celtic.
Time will tell who is the better striker but, as it stands, Edouard’s rise to prominence means few at Celtic will be thinking about what could have been with Solanke.
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