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There are a fair few Dembeles going around in top level football these days and the one Dembele ( Moussa Dembele ) that Celtic managed to acquire in the last summer transfer window is enthralling Celtic Park with his splendid displays.
This Dembele is of Malian descent and has represented France at the youth levels. He spent eight years at Paris Saint-Germain’s academy before moving to Fulham in 2013. Now at Celtic, Dembele’s performances are garnering attention from scouts across the top European teams.
Playing style
Moussa Dembele nominally starts on the wings and has a tendency to cut inside as he approaches the opposition goal. He possesses great pace and dribbling skills to get past defenders and is capable of shooting with both feet.
He is also very intelligent with his movement and that makes it incredibly hard to defend against him.
Future at Celtic
It was a coup for the Scottish club to secure the signature of the youngster who was also linked with some Premier League outfits. Scottish football has struggled due to a lack of competitiveness following the relegation of Rangers and in the given circumstances, it was a bit of a coup for the Celts to sign such a promising youngster.
He has straightway slotted into Brendan Rodgers’ first team at Parkhead and has racked up 13 goals in 18 appearances across all competitions so far, including a brace in a Champions League group stage fixture against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. He certainly appears to have a bright future and that may be bitter sweet news for the reigning Scottish champions.
With his abundant talents on display every week, Celtic may not be able to hold on to Moussa Dembele for long and may soon have to sell him to the highest bidder. However, to sweeten the deal for them that bid is likely to be quite high.
Prospects with the national team
Dembele has progressed through the ranks of French football. He made his debut for the France Under-16 side in 2011, scoring four times from 14 appearances before being promoted to the Under-17s in 2013. Taking one step at a time, Dembele debuted for the France Under-21 team earlier this year and has scored two goals in as many matches so far.
France national team are blessed with some exceptionally talented young footballers in their ranks and while Dembele is certainly among them, there are players who are ahead of him in the pecking order. Moussa Dembele has to contend with the likes of Anthony Martial and Kingsley Coman amongst the youngsters as well as the established stars, Antoine Griezmann and Andre-Pierre Gignac being the big names.
However, if the 20-year-old keeps progressing at the same rate, there is no question he will force his way into the France first team sooner rather than later.
Achievements so far
His hat-trick against Rangers on 10th September 2016 was the first from a Celtic player in the Old Firm derby since Stevie Chalmers’ in 1966.
He scored his first two Champions League goals against the mighty Manchester City to secure a 3-3 draw for the Bhoys.
Wasi is a keen fan with loads of knowledge about the game. He has written for some of the world’s leading soccer websites and is a major Barcelona and Pune City FC fan. He loves the Champions League and watches 200+ EPL games & La Liga games per season.