Christopher Jullien reckons Odsonne Edouard doesn’t need to look beyond Lennoxtown to play for one of the top clubs in Europe.
The big defender insists Celtic have all the attraction of the teams chasing his Parkhead pal.
Clubs such as Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle are keeping tabs on Edouard, along with a host of others across the continent, after the striker blasted 28 goals on the way to securing the Premiership title.
The transfer window has been wedged shut during the Covid-19 crisis but it will open at some point and the Hoops are expecting plenty of interest in their prize asset.
Jullien would love to see Edouard stick around a little longer as part of Celtic’s French connection.
And the former PSG star is in no rush to go. He has constantly insisted he’s content in Scotland and still has a lot to learn.
Jullien is convinced his pal can cut it at the elite level but reckons he’ll need to go far to find a bigger club than Celts.
The £7million centre-back said: “I speak with Odsonne a lot. We are friends. I know how good Celtic is for him and how happy he is right now.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen but personally I think he is at one of the best clubs in Europe.
“We will see what happens but I hope everything is going to be fine for next season.
“Odsonne has been huge for us. He’s scored so many goals but he gives more than that to the team.
“His all-round game is fantastic. He holds the ball in for us, he controls the tempo and gives us so much with his dribbling and skills. We are so happy to have him.”
Jullien and Edouard have fellow Frenchman Olivier Ntcham for company at Parkhead, while Belgian Boli Bolingoli also speaks the language along with Ivory Coast man Ismaila Soro.
But former Toulouse star Jullien revealed even his Hoops team-mates are attempting to pick up the lingo these days.
He said: “The French players have done well at Celtic and having some already here when I arrived made me more comfortable.
“Odsonne and Oli were there and others like Boli spoke the language too.
“It helped me settle at the start but the staff at the club made me so comfortable too, along with the Scottish boys.
“Even some of them try to speak French at times!
“But as team-mates they make you very comfortable and that’s a big thing at Celtic.”
Jullien reckons the French contingent are more laidback than the Scots in the squad – but boss Neil Lennon has the perfect blend of fire and ice.
He said: “French players are different to Scottish players. We are a little more chilled!
“You need to adapt to Scottish football but everyone at the club helped us do that.
“When you have a person like Scott Brown it helps too as he is the perfect captain. He is the biggest leader I have ever seen in football.
“I am so happy to have him on my side. His talent, his passion on the field, his will to win – he is amazing for every one of is team-mates.
“Then you have the other guys like Griff [Leigh Griffiths], Callum [McGregor], Ryan [Christie] and all the rest.
“Having a lot of Scottish and French players is a perfect mix for Celtic. There is a good balance.”
Celtic have struck gold with players from France in recent times with Moussa Dembele making a huge impact in his two seasons along with Ntcham and Edouard.
Dembele was sold for a cool £20m while the other two have hefty prize tags if any club fancies attempting to prise them from Parkhead.
Jullien has also impressed but reckons the flow will be into Celtic rather than the other way around.
Word has got back to his homeland about the French stars in the side and he insisted there’s a queue of players who’d love the chance to follow in his footsteps to Scotland.
Jullien added: “I have had a lot of French players asking me, ‘How is Celtic?’ I say to them, ‘It’s huge – one of the biggest clubs’.
“In France there is a lot of respect for Celtic. Everyone knows it’s a famous club with amazing fans. But when you also focus on the team and the big games we play you realise just how huge it is.
“I post videos on my social media and the reaction from back home is big.
“When my friends come to games, see the stadium, the fans and all the talent we have they are blown away.
“A lot of them would love to play for Celtic but it’s not that easy. There are a lot of good players dreaming of the same.”
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