Celtic crushed by 'big' Moussa Dembele blow - pundit

Alan Hutton has insisted Celtic will be "disappointed" to miss out on a potential "big" pay-out for Moussa Dembele.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Rangers defender referred to the contract situations of Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent at Ibrox who could leave for free in the summer when they had previously been tipped for expensive moves.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano (23 April), the 26-year-old is set to leave Lyon as a free agent in the summer and has been attracting interest from Serie A and Premier League clubs.

On 23 February, Football Insider, revealed that Aston Villa and Leeds United have been eyeing up a summer move for the former Celtic striker.

The Frenchman joined the Parkhead club in 2016 where he made 94 appearances, scored 51 goals, and became a fan favourite before leaving for Lyon in 2018.

The Hoops were set for a sell-on fee if Dembele left the Ligue 1 side for cash, which is becoming increasingly unlikely.

Hutton insisted missing out on a potential bonus is a big blow for the Celts.

"Missing out on any sort of money for a player is disappointing," he told Football Insider.

"When you let contracts run down, we have seen it with Kent, Morelos, players that could have gone for big numbers. It is not ideal.

"Dembele showed a lot of promise, he is an outstanding footballer, he had a great move that has probably not worked out the way you want it to.

"From a Celtic position you want players to kick on but it has obviously not quite worked. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here, if he can get back to the heights that he showed. But it has just not quite worked."

In other news, Celtic and Sunderland race to sign Swansea striker.