Celtic were reportedly offered the chance to bring Valere Germain to the Scottish Premiership as Moussa Dembele’s replacement but he stayed in Ligue 1.
After a prolonged and rather bitter transfer saga, Moussa Dembele is no longer Celtic’s number ten. The Frenchman sealed a move to his homeland in the dying hours of deadline day, joining Lyon for a reported £19.7 million, according to the BBC.
In the days leading up to his move to Ligue 1, however, it seemed that Marseille were leading the chase.
They allegedly wanted to make Dembele their marquee striker signing and were even willing to offer a player in exchange, ensuring Celtic had a man lined up to replace their talismanic goal-scorer. That man was Valere Germain; the £9 million centre-forward who netted 18 times for Marseille in 2017/18.
But, according to Le10 Sport, Germain had no interest in a move to Scotland and dug in his heels, eventually remaining at Marseille.
The 28-year-old certainly emerged from the speculation with a point to prove. And it is fair to say he made a statement in his first outing in September. With the scores level at 2-2 heading into stoppage time at Monaco, Germain scored a terrific near post header to seal a dramatic away win at his former club on Sunday evening.
That is quite the way to start saving your Marseille career. Who needs Moussa?
Time will tell, however, whether Celtic have missed out on Dembele’s ideal replacement or whether Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths can step up in his absence.
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