PIERRE van Hooijdonk tuned in to watch his old club Celtic take on Rangers for the first time this season at his home in the Netherlands at the start of the month and understood instantly why great things are predicted for Odsonne Edouard in future.
The striker opened the scoring in the first-half with a well-timed break upfield and composed finish to take his tally for the 2019/20 campaign to six in all competitions and performed superbly throughout a game his side dominated and deservedly won 2-0.
Edouard followed up his fine individual display in the Glasgow derby match by scoring another four goals for the France Under-21 team during the international break - he netted a brace against Albania a fortnight ago and then weighed in with another double against the Czech Republic last week.
The 21-year-old’s impressive form for both club and country has won him the Ladbrokes Premiership Player of the Month award for August and increased the likelihood of him being targeted either during the January transfer window or next summer. Napoli are the latest major European club to be linked with the player.
Van Hooijdonk, who played at NAC Breda, Vitesse Arnhem and Feyenoord in his native Netherlands, Nottingham Forest in England, Benfica in Portugal, and Fenerbahce in Turkey as well as at Celtic during his playing career, believes he can flourish at a higher level down south or overseas in the future.
But the man whose departure from Parkhead after little over two years in Glasgow caused an outcry - he departed after a derogatory and ill-judged comment about the pay rise he had been offered was made public - has urged Edouard to remain firmly focused on football.
He believes that maintaining his current form and helping Neil Lennon’s men to win their ninth consecutive Scottish title as well as reach the knockout rounds of the Europa League – and they play their first Group E match against Rennes in Brittany on Thursday night – must be his priority this season.
Van Hooijdonk, who has worked as an agent since retiring from playing and who brokered Nadir Ciftci’s move from Dundee United to Celtic back in 2015, has seen exceptional talents fail to fulfil their potential by failing to remain focused and is hoping Edouard doesn’t fall into that trap.
“I liked very much what I saw of Edouard against Rangers,” he said. “It is impressive that he is capable of doing the sort of things he did at that age.
“There could be a beautiful career in front of him if he keeps the form he’s got and doesn’t pick up any injuries. He’s a nice prospect. Celtic have got several of these players. If they let them grow they can lift the club again.
“But he still has to keep improving. That is the main thing – not losing your head along the way. If he does that then there could be some beautiful things for him in the future.
“But there are no guarantees in football. Never. We have seen enough players who come through at a young age and people say: ‘Wow! He’s going to be unbelievable!’ Then they stop training hard and living their life the right way and they end up somewhere that you don’t expect them to.”
Van Hooijdonk, whose header against Airdrie in the 1995 Scottish Cup final at Hampden ended a six year trophy drought for the East End club, didn’t win the Scottish title during his two years in this country.
However, the 49-year-old is confident his old club can win the league for the ninth season running thanks to defeating Steven Gerrard’s team comfortably in the opening Glasgow derby match
“I watched the game at Ibrox and I thought Celtic did well,” he said. “It’s a very important season for Celtic with Nine-In-A-Row up for grabs. You don’t want to be chasing your biggest rivals in that situation.
“So, from that point of view, they made an enormous step forward beating Rangers.”
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