Karamoko Dembele made his senior Celtic debut at the tender age of 16.
Barry Ferguson has admitted that he has been left mightly impressed with Karamoko Dembele after he made his debut for Celtic during their 2-1 win over Hearts at the weekend.
Former Scottish Premiership player Ferguson shared ‘one thing’ about Dembele’s debut and that was his constant willingness to demand the ball.
The 16-year-old came on as a half-time substitute and impressed one and all with his ability to get on the ball and drive at the opposition defence at will.
Speaking to PLZ Soccer (20/05/2019), Ferguson was nothing but full of praise for Dembele as he was particularly impressed with how he dealt with the atmosphere at Parkhead.
“I tell you one thing about him, he was demanding that ball every time,” Ferguson told PLZ Soccer. “It’s great to see that. A 16-year-old coming into that type of atmosphere. It was a massive game in front of 60,000.
“He is a fantastic talent, you can see that. He’s only a young kid. You need to give him a bit of time. He certainly looks a star of the future.”
There is no doubt that Dembele lifted supporters off their seat when he came onto the pitch and got on the ball. A lot is expected of him and there are big pressures on young shoulders.
One more game of the season remains for Celtic and that is their Scottish Cup final against Hearts at Hamden this Saturday – it will be interesting to see if Neil Lennon decides to keep him in the matchday squad.
During the Scottish Premiership encounter, Lennon made a number of changes to his team as he understandably had one eye on that final. But given Dembele’s impact, it remains to be seen if he’ll stick with the youngster.
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