Celtic target's loss of form may kibosh January move

By Euan Davidson

December 17, 2020

Celtic target Sikiri Dembelé’s January move looks to be on the rocks. Demebelé, the older brother of Karamoko has struggled for form in England’s League One.

According to the Peterborough Telegraph, the Posh are beginning to lose patience with the winger. Dembelé has also been linked to Wolves, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Queens Park Rangers and Derby County (TEAMtalk).

However, on current form, any upwards motion looks unlikely. Dembelé was dispossessed 6 times against MK Dons on Tuesday night (WhoScored?) and was hauled off after only 54 minutes.

As the older brother of wonderkid Karamoko, there are many who would still argue that Dembelé would offer a lot to Celtic’s sparse wing options. That said, this kind of form in England’s third tier doesn’t offer a great deal of optimism.

None too happy: Darren Ferguson / (Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)

Just like his Dad, Ferguson doesn’t accept bad form

Peterborough’s owner Darragh MacAnthony has been quick and emphatic with his praise for the winger in recent months. In the Hard Truth podcast, MacAnthony compared Dembelé to Wilfried Zaha (HITC).

MacAnthony has previously said:

“Siriki will be the next one we sell to the Premier League. In fact, one club is desperate to sign him and I’ve told them to come back in January and then next summer”.

However, Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson is unlikely to keep picking the tricky winger is his form doesn’t improve.

In the wake of the Posh’s draw with MK Dons, Ferguson said (Peterborough Telegraph):

“We had bits of possession in the first-half when we could have hurt them as they play so open, but we didn’t do as much with the ball as I’d hoped. They started strongly, but we got a foothold in the match and took the lead, but we couldn’t build on it as we weren’t good enough on the ball.

Siriki Dembelé of Peterborough United: Celtic bound? / (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

January looms for Celtic and Dembelé

So far, Dembelé hasn’t reached the heights of last season, when he scored 5 times and offered 8 assists in 25 games (Transfermarkt).

His 5 goals and 5 assists in 20-21 represent a decent return. Still, it’s his overall play has frustrated the Posh faithful. It’s possible that intense speculation has affected his game in recent weeks.

Celtic probably won’t be put off entirely by this. The advantage of having Karamoko’s older brother at the club is obvious. Especially considering that the youngster is considering his options (Scottish Sun).

With Celtic needing to bolster the flanks in January, it’ll be interesting to see whether this blip contributes to Celtic’s transfer window.