--- title: "Celtic: Neil McCann agrees with Brendan Rodgers’ assertion about Odsonne Edouard" canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/celtic-neil-mccann-agrees-with-brendan-rodgers-assertion-about-odsonne-edouard/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" author: "Liam Togher" section: "Features" published: "2020-02-03T18:40:26Z" modified: "2020-02-03T18:40:26Z" --- # Celtic: Neil McCann agrees with Brendan Rodgers’ assertion about Odsonne Edouard **[Former Scotland international](https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/players/?pid=9756) Neil McCann voiced his agreement with the observation of ex-Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers that Hoops striker Odsonne Edouard will become a better player than [former Parkhead team-mate](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/odsonne-edouard/gemeinsameSpiele/spieler/344152/plus/0?gegner=0&kriterium=2&wettbewerb=&liga=&verein=371&pos=&status=0) Moussa Dembele.** The 22-year-old Celtic forward took his tally of goals for the season to [21](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/odsonne-edouard/leistungsdaten/spieler/344152) after [scoring twice in the 4-1 win at Hamilton](https://www.skysports.com/football/hamilton-vs-celtic/411358) on Sunday, with five goals to his name from the Hoops’ four Premiership games since the end of the winter break (as per [TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/odsonne-edouard/leistungsdaten/spieler/344152)). Speaking on [BBC Sportsound](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0079g4q) \[[via The Scottish Sun](https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/5239960/celtic-edouard-rangers-morelos-mccann/)\], McCann revealed that Rodgers made a grandiose statement about Edouard’s potential, saying: “I remember talking to Brendan Rodgers and he told me that he believed Edouard will be better than Moussa Dembele. I can see it now. He’s class.” The comparison between Edouard and Dembele is a pertinent one – both are French strikers who came to Celtic at a young age and proved to be prolific scorers for the club. The Lyon striker, who is [18 months older](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/moussa-dembele/profil/spieler/229004) than [his fellow countryman at Parkhead](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/odsonne-edouard/profil/spieler/344152), scored [51 goals in 94 appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/moussa-dembele/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/229004) for the Hoops between 2016 and 2018, an average of 0.54 goals per game. That gives him the edge on Edouard, who currently has [54 goals from 117 matches](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/odsonne-edouard/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/344152) for Celtic (0.46 goals per game). However, the majority of Dembele’s goals for the Scottish champions came in his first season at the club, with [32 goals in 49 games in 2016/17](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/moussa-dembele/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/229004) (0.65 per game). He managed just [half that tally in 39 appearances in the following campaign](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/moussa-dembele/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/229004), an average of 0.41 per game representing a significant drop on his return from the previous year. By contrast, Edouard’s scoring return for Celtic has improved with each year at the club. In his debut campaign for the Hoops in 2017/18, he had a modest return of [11 goals in 29 matches](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/odsonne-edouard/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/344152) (0.38 per game). He scored [twice as many goals](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/odsonne-edouard/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/344152) in the following season in [52 appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/odsonne-edouard/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/344152) (0.42 per game) and is already on [21 goals from 36 games](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/odsonne-edouard/leistungsdaten/spieler/344152) in the current campaign, an average of 0.58 per game. Edouard [recently celebrated his 22nd birthday](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/odsonne-edouard/profil/spieler/344152), with Dembele reaching that age [shortly after the end of the 2017/18 season.](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/moussa-dembele/profil/spieler/229004) Notably, the Celtic striker’s scoring average for this campaign is higher than what his former Hoops team-mate managed at a similar age two seasons ago. \[freshpress-poll id=”276863″\] Dembele may still have the better overall average for the club but Edouard has gotten progressively better during his time at Parkhead and, with more than three months of the season remaining, it seems quite conceivable that he could match or surpass Dembele’s 32-goal tally from 2016/17 by the end of this campaign. McCann is therefore justified in agreeing with Rodgers’ assertion that the current Celtic striker could yet turn out to be an even more potent finisher than the ex-Hoops forward. ***Celtic fans, what did you make of McCann’s and Rodgers’ assertions? Do you think Edouard will be, or perhaps already is, a better striker than Dembele? Join in the discussion by commenting below!***