Sutton: This is the best bit of business Lawwell can do for Celtic this summer
Chris Sutton has claimed that holding onto Moussa Dembele is the best bit of business the club can do this summer.
The 21-year-old French striker is contracted at Celtic until 2020 but has been the subject of constant speculation since impressing in Scotland.
This last campaign wasn't his best, but Dembele still scored 16 goals in 39 appearances, with eight league goals in 23 games.
That's in contrast to his brilliant 16/17 season where he scored 32 goals in 49 games across all competitions – a tally that got a lot of big clubs paying attention to him.
Writing in his column in the Daily Record, Sutton said that while a permanent deal for striker Odsonne Edouard would be a boost for Celtic, keeping hold of Dembele would be the deal that would see them finally make progress in Europe.
"Elsewhere, I see Celtic are still locked in talks to sign Odsonne Edouard from PSG and the early signs appear to be very encouraging", Sutton wrote.
"The player is also making the right noises in terms of wanting to stay at Celtic. That would represent another huge boost for Brendan Rodgers’s men coming hot on the heels of Tom Rogic’s new five-year deal.
"However for me the best piece of business that Celtic could complete this summer would be holding on to Moussa Dembele.
"The Frenchman may not have had as good a campaign as his debut season but he still bagged an impressive goals tally and helped Celtic have another magnificent season domestically by clinching the double Treble.
"If Celtic can keep their best players that in turn will attract better players to the club and enhance their chances of competing in Europe.
"With the European campaign coming around so quickly I feel Dembele has to stay put in Glasgow if Rodgers’s team are to realise their ambition on that stage."