What are people's thoughts on him? Looks to be an excellent finisher and stronger/experienced beyond his age.
Moussa Dembele, Celtic
- Thread starter AkaAkuma
- Start date
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
Great striker, remember following him at Fulham and he was banging goals in regularly in the championship at 18. Started off slow at Celtic but now he's up and running, think he made the right choice instead of joining a top team and getting limited opportunities.
Nowhere near good enough for a top team yet. He's still extremely raw, but considering he only turned 20 this year, he's a very exciting prospect. I hope he stays at Celtic for at least another season as he's gaining vital experience there and is even getting CL experience. Players like Wanyama, Forster and Van Dijk stayed at Celtic a-bit longer than expected and it served them well so I really hope that Dembele does the same.
He actually started off quite well for Celtic and was scoring from early on.
serious potential this kid has
I agree. Players coming from the SPL are often discredited, because it's a poor league and all that noise. But as you say, he's playing nearly every game, scoring goals and getting games in Europe, which is great for a 20 year old. The quality of the SPL is another discussion, but he's gaining a winning mentality at a club where domestic expectations are as high as any top club. That's invaluable experience. Better than if he was slogging away in the Championship IMO
Aye, I mean the league is awful but players also gain good experience with Celtic and generally have some form of European football along with playing plenty of football. The likes of Wanyama and Van Dijk were slated on here while still at Celtic with most saying they wouldn't be good enough for the PL. Look how that turned out. Just because it's a poor league, it doesn't mean that good players can't be developed there. Some players that have moved from to the PL in recent years haven't done so bad: Ki, Wanyama, Forster, Van Dijk and even Kayal is doing very well with Brighton in the Championship. Of course there are the Hooper's, Adam Matthews' etc, but generally the foreign recruits have went on to do well.
Van Dijk was great to watch in the SPL. Opposing strikers just bounced off him, and he just cruised through games. It was clear he was several levels above the SPL, yet was still discredited. Many still weren't convinced after his first PL season, which is crazy. The guy is monstrous.
20, raw, a lot to learn, but being talked about all over Europe, Zidane is a big fan, has followed his progress from a young age. Being touted as the new Drogba, only time will tell, but if he carries on at this rate he will be sold for more than the likes of Van Dijk and Wanyama in a season or two. Still a bit surprised Celtic got him - I think he had an offer to go back to PSG in the summer, almost went to Spurs last January for £6M. The half million he cost Celtic is rapidly starting to look like a bargain along the lines of the £650K it cost to sign Henrik Larsson 20 years ago. Already made his debut and scored for France U21s.
I think a lot depends on him and his attitude in terms of how far he goes in football terms but he comes across as a very laid-back and grounded guy. Only black spot so far was missing a penalty in the Nou Camp.
I think a lot depends on him and his attitude in terms of how far he goes in football terms but he comes across as a very laid-back and grounded guy. Only black spot so far was missing a penalty in the Nou Camp.
Yup and his technique was crazy for a defender in that league. He used to literally waltz out of defence with the ball and go past opposing players like they weren't there. It was clear he was going to be a very good player as it was just as clear with Wanyama. In his last season there, him and Denayer were absolutely brilliant to watch although I haven't heard much of Denayer since he went back to City.
Dembele made a good choice moving to Celtic as I fear had he moved to a bigger club, he would have been a bench warmer and probably loaned out. He should definitely bide his time and wait at least another season before moving. He's only 20 and the move will definitely come so he doesn't need to be in any kind of rush.
Denayer and VVD were a brilliant partnership at Celtic, shame Celtic couldn't have got Denayer for longer on loan he seems to have stalled a bit recently at Sunderland, but they are in a real mess just now. VVD was in cruise control in his time at Celtic, but he really has stepped up since going to Southampton. Great player, I think there is still more to come from him yet.
I think Dembele is a joy to watch with Celtic just now, he can do a bit of everything, scores all types of goals.
Aye, just said that in his thread.
Christ, I forgot that Denayer was on loan at Sunderland. Horrible club and manager for him to work under.
I think he'll be at Celtic for this season and next, then off to a side in England for big £££.
Yeah, you've pretty much summed it up with this. A real coup for Celtic to get such a highly rated youngster, which no doubt was down to the pull of the manager.
Watching Celtic's recent performance against Borussia Monchengladbach, it has got to be Celtic's best away performance in the CL since the O'Neill days. Rodgers' coaching looks like it's beginning to reflect in the team's performances on the big stage.
I think Denayer did OK at Galatasaray in his season there, Sunderland was probably a bad choice for him - and Janusaz.
You could bet your house on him signing for a PL club next summer.
Celtic rarely, if ever, lose players after just one season. I think he will definitely be there next season and he really should stay.
Can Celtic afford to turn down PL money?
Average players like Bolasie & Sissoko are going for over £30m and Dembele will command a similar fee. That's over half their annual operating revenue for last year.
I signed him on FIFA 17. He is the real deal.
I remember he was so close to signing for Spurs in the summer, but they randomly dropped their interest. We should've swooped in then.
I remember he was so close to signing for Spurs in the summer, but they randomly dropped their interest. We should've swooped in then.
Everyone that gets a son should always name him Dembele, no matter which nation they are from. It is obviously requisite to becoming good in football.
Celtic can't command the fees that PL clubs command. Look at how much the likes of Forster, Van Dijk and Wanyama have moved for over the years. If an absolutely crazy offer was made, then yeah, I'm sure they would sell. He seems happy there, though and if Rodgers stays beyond this season, I think it's in his best interests to stay for at least another season.
I have seen that several ex pro's have come out recently and said that he should stay beyond this season. Van Dijk stayed a season longer than expected and it certainly didn't do him any harm. I'm sure most top clubs are monitoring Dembele and I would say most will be happy to let him stay there and develop further before making a move. I genuinely believe that he's a special talent that's destined for the top; but there's no rush to move as he's very raw at the moment and under Rodgers he will be a hugely important player that will play a lot of games.
Regarding the league it's easy to judge the quality of players - simply a matter of assessing how they perform in the big league games, in Europe and internationally. That's always been the case for players from lesser leagues and it's only lazy analysis that comes to snap conclusions based on where the player comes from, be it the SPL or anywhere else.
Yep, while it's early days, it's easy to why someone like Dembele is a level above someone like Griffiths.
Despite both being prolific at league level for Celtic, Dembele's the one who has stood out in the big games and in Europe.
Exactly. Van Dijk is a perfect example of this, as are Wanyama and Forster to a lesser extent. Cost about £5.5M, sold for about £35M.
Its a pity we're well stacked in terms of young strikers with potential as otherwise I think he would be worth taking a punt on now on the (relative) cheap.
United were said to have had a scout watching him recently, although he was on the bench and only came on for the last few minutes, he did score though.
I think Kasper Dolberg at Ajax is another young player worth keeping an eye on this season.
Hmmm, unless Martial will be kept solely as a winger and Rooney moved on it seems like too many players for one position. Someone is bound to suffer.
Hat trick today: 3 shots, 3 on target, 3 goals. He's going to be an absolute star and Celtic will make a fortune when he leaves in the summer (probsbly). Chelsea were heavily linked and I really hope they don't get him.
It's always a gamble plucking someone from Scotland though, the league is so poor it's difficult to gauge a players quality.
Talent is talent.
Ki, Wanyama, van Dijk and Robertson made the switch effortlessly.
I think Tierney and Dembélé will be good enough for Premier League teams.
Wanyama, Ki, Van Dijk and Forster haven't done too badly in recent years.
Celtic snapping up Dembele was a massive coup at the time considering he nearly joined Spurs the previous January and Arsenal were linked too. He was extremely highly rated at Fulham and was playing for them when he was 16. He was also brilliant against City in the CL earlier in the season.
This guy is going to be absolute star. The Celtic move was a very good choice as he's first choice, will most likely rack up over 30 goals and win some silverware.
Which striker does he compare to?
He looked good in the CL too from what I saw.
Celtic are 27 points clear, wtf. 
Celtic are 27 points clear, wtf.
Aberdeen creeping up. It'll be a close run-in.
Don't disagree with either of you, my point is that it's a huge gamble in my view (depending on the price of course).
Celtic are 27 points clear after all, the lack of competitiveness in the league is ridiculous.
But I think you can forget the Celtic thing for a minute. I mean Hooper banged goals in for Celtic but everyone knew he was shit.
Dembele has a good scoring record for French underage teams and has 4 in 4 for the French U21's. He was recently praised by Zidane and big clubs have been linked with him since his Fulham days. Even in the CL this season, he was a clear standout player for Celtic. I watch him regularly and his talent is blatantly obvious.
I think he should stay for one more season but it's looking unlikely.
Fair points, I rarely watch Celtic so am totally focusing on the Scottish league to be fair.
Celtic are 27 points clear, wtf.
To add to this, he was the youngest ever(?) player to score 15+ goals in the Championship last season, Chelsea's Tammy Abraham just overtook him.