Celtic have been linked to a move for club starlet Karamoko Dembele’s brother, Siriki. That’s according to TEAMtalk, who claim that the Hoops are looking to land a deal for the Peterborough striker in order to convince his younger brother to remain in Glasgow.
The youngest of the Dembeles is currently in Celtic’s reserve team and is rapidly making a name for himself. However, there’s clearly worry amongst the board that the 17-year-old starlet will be tempted by a move elsewhere. Peter Lawwell and co are hoping that by pushing to sign his brother from the Posh, they can retain the teenaged talent.
Dembele not worth the risk for Celtic
Whilst the logic behind signing Siriki Dembele makes sense, Celtic can’t afford to throw cash at targets that look completely random at face value. Lawwell and his club have shown that they can attract the likes of Premier League winger Mohamed Elyounoussi, who has been a stunning loan signing from the Hoops this season.
They are also currently fielding Brighton’s Shane Duffy, another well-established top flight player. Even with reports linking star man Odsonne Edouard to an exit, Celtic don’t need to rummage around in the lower leagues in order to replace him.
Dembele has made a strong start to his portfolio this season with five goals and four assists in 11 League One matches so far. However, last season only saw him find the back of the net six times in a total of 30 appearances, which isn’t exactly enough to wow the fans (via Transfermarkt).
Indeed, these stats would be impressive for a young player on the rise, but Dembele has recently turned 24-years-old and should be in peak condition right now. Plus, compared to Edouard’s return of 21 goals in 27 Premiership games for Celtic last season, the numbers simply do not compare. Plus, after being lauded by Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson as a “destructive” forward, it would probably take a handsome offer to prise the player away from London Road.
Dembele wouldn’t be a substantial like-for-like replacement should Edouard leave the club, and paying money just to keep another player in the ranks seems like too much of a far out approach.
In other news, This player was surprising with poor performance against Hibs…
