ODSONNE EDOUARD and Olivier Ntcham can follow Moussa Dembele by excelling at Celtic and winning a move to one of Europe’s major leagues, according to Robert Pires.

The former Arsenal star has been impressed by Dembele since he made the move back to his homeland with Lyon for £20million on the last day of the summer transfer window.

And he thinks that the experiences gained by the young French players currently at Celtic can only stand them in good stead for a career at the top level as well.

“I know they are good players,” Pires said. “For the guys it’s a good opportunity to play for Celtic because they can play in the Europa League and fight for the title with Rangers.

“If you are a player like these guys and have an opportunity to play with a great, great club such as Celtic and everyone in Europe knows them...for the future, if you play very well you can join the Premier League, La Liga or Serie A. This is a very good start if you play for Celtic.

“I know Dembele and for me he played very well when he was at Celtic. It is the same for any French player, an opportunity to sign for Lyon is very tempting because they are a very good club in France. They spent the money for him.

“He has played very well so far. I think he can help Lyon. He is fast, has very good skills and can score goals. He looks like he will be very important to that team.”

Pires believes though that Dembele may have a tough time breaking into Didier Deschamps World Cup-winning national team.

“When a player changes country, they always need to adapt to this new life,” he said. “Some fans and media tell you that playing football is the same everywhere. It’s not.

“When you change country, it is totally different. In Scotland it might be more physical than France, so you need that period to adapt. But I think he has started well at Lyon, showing why they spent that money.”