Celtic ace Dembele responds to reported interest from Chelsea
By Will Butcher
Moussa Dembele has revealed he is enjoying his football at Celtic despite reportedly interesting Chelsea in January.
The Guardian claimed last month that the Premier League’s leaders were considering a bid of £30million for Dembele, but were also prepared to wait until the summer.
When asked about the speculation surrounding his future, 20-year-old Dembele refused to rule out a move but did say he was happy at Parkhead.
“Easy not to get distracted,” Dembele said, as quoted by Celtic’s official Twitter account. “I’m a very calm guy and I’m just enjoying my football here.”
The striker proved his worth on Sunday as he scored a 24-minute hat-trick against St. Johnstone in a 5-2 win, as the Bhoys maintained their unbeaten league form.
Coming on as a substitute in the second half with Celtic 2-1 down, Dembele saved Celtic’s blushes with three goals. Scott Sinclair and Liam Henderson also got their name on the score sheet.
Since his move from Championship outfit Fulham, Dembele has been in red-hot form, scoring 23 goals in just 39 league and cup encounters for the 47-time league champions.
Football Insider verdict:
It’s a huge boost to the stature of Celtic for Dembele to want to remain in Glasgow with Celtic. However, with the Guardian claiming Dembele is worth £30million, Celtic should cash in on a striker they paid just £500,000 in compensation for at the start of the season. Bringing such a large amount of cash could prove crucial in Celtic applying themselves better in the Champions League group stages in the 2017-18 season, after being knocked out by Man City and Barcelona this time round. Giving manager Brendan Rodgers more flexibility in the transfer market, Celtic should be able to bring in a new striker that could be as prolific as Dembele while having money left over to improve other areas of the team.
In other Celtic transfer news, Rodgers has taken this swipe at striker Leigh Griffiths.
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