Fans may be up in arms at the moment, but a Celtic win against Rangers and fans will forget Moussa Dembele.
The Hoops face a tough challenge this afternoon as Steven Gerrard brings his Rangers side to Celtic Park. It’s a game that has a variety of interesting sub-plots to it.
Brendan Rodgers vs Steven Gerrard. Kyle Lafferty’s return to Parkhead as a Rangers player. Celtic’s leaky defence.
But above all of these, there is another that stands out more than any.
Dembele left Celtic for Lyon on transfer deadline-day for a deal of around £20million. In terms of business, it was a shrewd move from Celtic. Yet supporters are furious about the timing of the deal.
With such a huge game around the corner against their arch rivals, why would the club sell their star-striker? Especially when there has been no replacement brought in.
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Dembele had scored seven goals against Rangers since signing for the club two years ago. He had huge pedigree in this fixture and was an Old Firm talisman.
The best tonic for this deal, however, wouldn’t be a new face in the door. It would be a Glasgow Derby success against Rangers at Celtic Park today.
A win this afternoon and fans won’t be discussing Dembele post-match. Should a new hero step up, supporters are likely to wave off the Frenchman and embrace their new saviour.
At the moment, the decision to sell the former Fulham man is raw. It may also link in to the fact that some supporters are nervous about what Gerrard’s Rangers could bring to the table.
Many will feel the club needed Dembele to be certain of victory this afternoon. The fallout of deadline-day may not have been so toxic had the club not been facing a must-win derby clash on Sunday.
Therefore, the club and Rodgers can do themselves a favour and put Rangers to the sword this afternoon. Failure to do so will just increase anger levels at the Dembele situation.
Yet, a victory and supporters will start to forget about the man who terrorised their derby rivals so often.