Are Crystal Palace now the front-runners to sign Celtic’s Moussa Dembele?

Follow us on Google Discover

Scottish Premiership champions Celtic have accepted that Moussa Dembele will leave but Crystal Palace could be his best Premier League option.

What now for Moussa Dembele?

It appears more likely than ever that the talismanic French striker will be on his way out of Celtic this month. The Scottish Champions’ assistant coach Chris Davies admitted on Monday that The Hoops have accepted defeat in their attempts to keep Dembele at Parkhead.

And manager Brendan Rodgers, after leaving Dembele on the bench for Celtic’s 2-1 midweek win at Partick Thistle, said the club would simply replace the 21-year-old if he does indeed leave before Wednesday’s transfer deadline, as reported by the Daily Record.

The question, however, is where will Dembele go?

He was one of the hottest prospects in European football in the summer after inspiring Celtic to a domestic treble with 32 goals in all competitions.

Now, however, after a difficult second season hit by injuries and a loss of form, it appears that Dembele now has far less options available.

The Daily Record report that only a smattering of Premier League sides are still tracking him, and they hardly belong to the established elite.

Everton are still keen but, after signing Cenk Tosun and Theo Walcott, will they spend another huge fee on another attacker? Brighton were also reportedly interested but, after signing Jurgen Locadia from PSV for a club-record £14 million, have now turned towards Newcastle United’s Aleksandar Mitrovic, via the Sun.

Therefore, this could leave Crystal Palace as one of the few violate destinations available if the £20 million-rated Dembele does leave this month. Palace are desperate for a striker to support Christian Benteke and, unlike Everton and Brighton, have been unable to bring anyone in so far.

Dembele could be that man. But would leaving Celtic for Palace really represent a major step forward? Possibly not.