Odsonne Edouard's Opening Day Hat-Trick a Reminder of Why Premier League Clubs Should Be Chasing Him

When Odsonne Edouard coolly slotted in his third goal against Hamilton on Sunday, Neil Lennon was outwardly delighted. Inwardly, however, he will have let out a little wince.

As the French striker checked his run, anticipated the rebound, and stroked in his hat-trick, it more or less made sure of a comprehensive opening day win for Lennon's team, but it also moved Edouard one small step closer to the inevitable.

If he keeps up performances like this, then one day soon, the Parkhead board are going to receive an offer they can't refuse, and that's a day the Hoops gaffer will be dreading with every fibre of his being.

Lennon signed Virgil van Dijk and played with Henrik Larsson, but he looks at Edouard and sees possibly the best ever to come through the doors in Glasgow's East End. The greatest players, after all, make football look easy, and Edouard - who scored three goals from five recorded touches of the ball on Sunday - takes this to a new level.

He strolls through games in an almost offensive manner, turning in man of the match performances without really breaking a sweat.

And while that may lead the occasional Scottish pundit may take a snide dig at his demeanour, he's quite happy to shut any criticisms down - with his goals and his carefully measured tweets.

Moussa Dembele, the man to whom Edouard is so often compared, may be able to boast a marginally better goals to games ratio during his time in Scotland, but anything the current Lyon striker accomplished in Glasgow has been thoroughly out-done by Edouard since the beginning of last season.

The level of consistency he's been able to attain is laughable. The last time he went three league games without scoring a goal was February 2019; if you discount substitute appearances of less than 30 minutes, you're into November of the previous year.

It's easy to see why the likes of Leicester, Arsenal and Manchester United are watching him tentatively, but you get the impression either club will have to move soon - or risk paying something exorbitant for a player whose trajectory suggests his value will only rocket from here.

In each of his seasons in Scotland, he's scored more goals than the one before; 11, 23 and 28; and that's despite the COVID-19 pandemic ensuring he played seven games fewer in 2019/20 than in 18/19. His treble against Hamilton - three composed, first-time finishes coming off the back of some ingenious movement - suggest he's gearing up to outdo himself once more.

Edouard may be at his most eye-catching when he is taking a defender out of the game with an intelligent run across the front, or reading the game and anticipating space for a tap-in, but he rarely gets the credit he is due for his selflessness.

For every two goals he has scored for the Hoops, he has registered at least one assist. He's one of the best around at bringing his team-mates into the game, and although he carries a prolific goalscoring threat, he often gives off airs of Roberto Firmino with his work-rate and vertical movement.

That was highlighted again to the expense of Accies on Sunday. He may have been on the end of Greg Taylor's cross, but he only darted to the back post after making himself available on the break and threading a perfectly weighted pass through to the left-back.

There's nothing you could ask of a striker that Edouard isn't capable of. His touch is immaculate, he's quick, powerful, intelligent, strong in the air, a team player, and he's clinical in front of goal.

Oh, and he's not even 23 until January.

When he does eventually leave Celtic, an eventuality likely to come to pass at some point in the next 12 months, it will be for a club record fee. One which comfortably eclipses the £25m the Gunners paid for Kieran Tierney, and utterly dwarfs the £9m the Hoops shelled out to make his loan from PSG permanent.

He's up there with the finest Celtic have seen in the modern era, comparable only with the man now widely considered the best defender in the world.

Why there isn't yet a queue round the block for his services is a mystery, but just like with Van Dijk and Dembele, any club overlooking him as an option simply because of the league he plays in may soon be left with their head in their hands.

Lennon knows that, but if it helps him keep hold of his prized asset for a tilt at 10-in-a-row, he'll be quite happy to leave it be.