Former Rangers and Manchester City striker Gordon Dalziel has claimed that Leigh Griffiths is a better option than Mo Elyounoussi for Celtic, a comment which, is one that Celtic agree with, could put a dent in Southampton’s summer transfer plans.
Dalziel says that Griffiths works best alongside Odsonne Edouard and that he should be in the team over Elyounoussi – as he was when Celtic beat Livingston 5-0 at the weekend.
Speaking on Radio Clyde’s Superscoreboard podcast, Dalziel said:
Edouard does look a lot better with a partner and that partner for me, and I will argue until the cows come home, must be Leigh Griffiths.
Since January ,I think they have been working on it and it still surprises me that the big game against Copenhagen here [at Celtic Park] they went with Elyounoussi.
They went with Elyounoussi against Livingston, they may have looked at the pitch and I don’t know what the situation was, but when you are wanting goals to win games then I think your best bet is having Edouard and Griffiths.
Elyounoussi watched on from the bench as Griffiths banged in a hat-trick up top alongside Edouard in a 3-5-2, formation, playing in the position that has been occupied by the Saints loanee in recent weeks.
If Griffiths continues to score goals and keep Elyounoussi out of the team, as Dalziel believes he should, then it could spell trouble for Southampton in the summer. If Celtic do not want to sign Elyounoussi on a permanent basis due to the form of Griffiths, Southampton will need to find a new buyer for the Norweigan forward.
Southampton already have Nathan Redmond, Stuart Armstrong, Moussa Djenepo and Sofiane Boufal competing for places in the wide areas, so it could be difficult for Elyounoussi to force his way back at St. Mary’s.
The club could then look to sell him to another club or even look for another loan abroad if that is the route they decide to go down.
An ideal situation would be that Elyounoussi rediscovers his form between now and the end of the season. This could potentially convince Celtic to shell out on a permanent signing and keep him in Scotland beyond the end of the season, solving Southampton’s problems.
If not, it could be a long summer of working hard to shift him on for the Saints, which could impact thier pre-transfer window planning.
