Karamoko Dembele’s future has been the subject of much speculation over the last week or so.
The Scottish Sun revealed yesterday that the likes of Arsenal, PSG, and Juventus are all slugging it out to try and sign up the Celtic superkid.
Dembele made his first-team debut against Hearts at the end of last season. Neil Lennon then put incredible trust in him to give him a spot on the bench for the Scottish Cup final. He didn’t come on, but the sign was clear from the manager – Dembele has a bright future here.
And Celtic fans most certainly shouldn’t worry about the idea of European big-hitters potentially coming to nab him. Why? Because Celtic are in a position where they don’t have to sell.
This isn’t similar to that Islam Feruz farce. It also isn’t similar to Liam Morrison’s transfer from Celtic to Bayern Munich in the summer either.
Unlike those two, Dembele has signed his first professional contract for Celtic. He’s tied to the club on a full-time deal. Celtic have huge plans for him, and clearly planned ahead for this level of interest.
If anyone wants to sign Dembele, they’ll have to cough up. Celtic most certainly won’t want to sell him, and any deal for him would surely have to be a mega one to convince us to do business.
Celtic are protected
The main positive here is that Celtic have protected themselves. It’s important not to be scared by the names being linked with a move for him. After all, they can’t just swoop in and nab him like Chelsea and Bayern did with Feruz and Morrison respectively.
It remains to be seen if he comes back into first-team contention this season. He’s only 16 years of age of course. There’s still plenty of time for him to make an impact, and that impact will be at Celtic until the Hoops say otherwise.
Dembele is perhaps the most exciting young talent to have signed professionally from the academy in some time. He has the potential to reach the very top, and he’ll almost certainly move on from Celtic one day.
But is that time at any point in the near future? Only if Celtic say so.
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