Dembele has signed professional terms with Celtic.
Karamoko Dembele has said he wants to emulate Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar when talking to Celtic’s official Twitter account, after signing professional terms with the Scottish champions.
The 15-year-old has already wowed Celtic fans with his performances in the youth teams, and even has caps for Scotland’s Under-17 side already. He even played for Celtic’s Under-20 side in October 2016.
He has now signed professional terms that will keep him at Parkhead until at least the summer of 2021, five years after joining the club aged 13.
Speaking to Celtic’s Twitter account after putting pen to paper, the attacker was asked to describe himself as a player and he reckons he plays in a similar style to that of PSG winger and 96-time Brazil international Neymar.
“For me, I want to be like Neymar on the pitch,” Dembele said. “Maybe not some of the stuff he does, but looking at the first team, I’d want to emulate James Forrest. He’s doing very well right now.”
Neymar joined PSG in the summer of 2017 for a world-record transfer fee of £200million. He has since scored 44 goals in 49 games, as well as creating another 24 in assists. Three of those goals came against Celtic last season.
It remains to be seen how long Dembele will have to wait for a chance in the Celtic first team, with Brendan Rodgers sure to have a plan in place for the England Under-16 and Scotland Under-17 international.
Following his new deal, it is expected that the pocket-sized star is expected to feature in the club’s reserve side and youth teams until Rodgers deems him ready to make the step up. But the future is expected to be bright for Dembele.
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