Manchester United reportedly held talks with Celtic striker Moussa Dembele in the summer.
“I believed when Moussa came that he probably had a two-year cycle. For me, I still think that’s the case,” Brendan Rodgers told The Scotsman back in May.
“He needs another year of Champions League experience and the confidence of scoring goals and playing for such a big club, and probably then it’ll be time to fly.”
Celtic certainly pulled off a real coup holding onto Moussa Dembele this summer amid interest from a whole host of European giants. But, as Rodgers himself admitted, the prospect of the France Under-21 ace remaining at Parkhead after his second season appear remote at best.
Dembele, to his credit, loves the club and believes Celtic is the best place for him to develop right now. Though there’s a sense that the former Fulham prodigy is outgrowing the rather small pond of Scotland’s top flight and deserves the chance to prove himself on a bigger stage.
Lukaku and Dembele?
And on Wednesday morning, L’Equipe (22nd November, page 6) reported that Dembele had entered into discussions over a possible move to none other than Manchester United late in the summer transfer window.
United were not one of the club’s most heavily linked with Dembele over the last few months but it appears that Jose Mourinho is looking to the future and trying to find a fresh-faced goalscorer who could lead the Red Devils for years to come.
Het Laastse Nieuws reported at the weekend that United were scouting Everton loanee Henry Onyekuru, who has seven goals in 14 games this season. This, coupled with new links to Dembele, suggests Mourinho wants a new striker to challenge Romelu Lukaku with even the evergreen Zlatan Ibrahimovic unable to go on forever.
With the Swede’s contract up at the end of the year, and taking into mind Rodgers’ predictions, will Dembele be a United player by the summer of 2018?
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