Joe Ledley is adamant Eddie Howe should pick the power of Celtic over the prestige of England’s Premier League.
The former Parkhead midfielder would love to see the 43-year-old take the Hoops reins.
However, with another of his old teams Crystal Palace among clubs south of the border who would also be interested in Howe, Ledley is aware the glamour of the top flight south of the border must be a lure.
Ledley reckons Southampton are also in the running for the out-of-work gaffer.
And, although the Welshman knows Celtic must take their time to get everything right over an appointment, he hopes it’s Howe and soon – with the sheer size of the Glasgow giants tipping the decision-making scales.
Ledley said: “ Eddie Howe has been fantastic at Bournemouth. A few clubs down south I know are interested. Palace and Southampton, I’ve heard as well.
“If you become the manager of Celtic and do well, you’ll be loved forever.
“If you win titles and do well in the Champions League, he’ll go down in history.
“As a player, that’s what you want to do and as a manager, hopefully, Eddie will make the right decision and join Celtic. I’d love to see him there.
“That’s down to Eddie to make a decision. I’m sure there will be a few clubs after him. Who he can bring in goes a long way, so we’ll see what happens. It’s going to be difficult.”
Ledley joined Palace from Celtic from 2014, but when asked if the Selhurst Park job was a better proposition than the one at Parkhead, he told the Celtic Huddle Podcast : “Personally I don’t think so. I think Celtic would be a lot better for him.
“Celtic don’t get enough credit or how big they are until you go there. For me, it’s the greatest club I’ve ever played for and one of the biggest clubs in the UK.
“You are going from one club that demands to win every game and then you go to Crystal Palace and you are happy with a draw at certain places.
“If you beat by Man Utd or Man City, it’s expected, so it’s nowhere near as big pressure going into Palace.
“When I went to Palace, it was just to be in the Premier League. When you are down here in Wales or England, it’s the biggest league in the world and what you want to watch.
“It was a great opportunity for me. I was gutted to leave Celtic. I would have liked to have more years, but the time was ready for me.
“I’d like to see Eddie Howe at Celtic. He’s hungry and wants to win stuff, but managers also want to be in the Premier League and show people what they can do at the highest level.
“It’s going to be interesting one and I think it should have been done earlier if they were going to agree it, but it doesn’t look good at the moment. I think Eddie will be looking at Premier League.”
Ledley feels time is not an ally to Celtic and continued: “It’s vital that they take their time. Next season is going to be big.
“It’s a massive decision and has to be the right one. But as a manager, I’m sure everyone is now in the situation of planning pre-season, games, transfers for next season, who’s leaving.
“And I think that’s where Celtic will probably be saying to Eddie well we need an answer as soon as possible because you don’t get much time. It goes so quick and they are wasting valuable time.
“The longer they wait, it is going to be more difficult to get the pre-season and get to know the players. The manager needs to know the environment.”
Ledley, meanwhile, says he’s delighted to see John Kennedy getting his chance as interim.
He was “gutted” to see old boss Neil Lennon go, but said: “I could understand the decision and it was good to see John come in. He’s been around the club for years, even in my time.
“I’m hoping he gets his opportunity. Whether he gets that opportunity, I’m not sure, but he’s been working with Lenny and Brendan Rodgers, so he knows how it works.”
