Zinedine Zidane has suggested that Celtic star Moussa Dembele is on the cusp of an international call-up.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane
In an attempt to encourage Moussa Dembele following his recent omission from the France national team squad, Zinedine Zidane has told The Scottish Sun that he is very much on Didier Deschamps’ radar. But should Celtic also take something important from the Real Madrid coach’s comments?
After a brilliant year at Parkhead – during which, he forced his way into the France under-21 side, for whom he has now made four appearances, scoring four goals – Dembele may have hoped to earn a place in Deschamps’ senior squad for the first time.
However, he missed out, prompting Zidane to issue some words of encouragement to the Celtic star.
“I am in regular contact with Didier and I know he is a player that he is monitoring closely,” he told The Scottish Sun.
“He should not think because he is playing in Scotland he has not been noticed — because that is not at all true.
What will also interest Brendan Rodgers is Zidane’s insistence that playing in Scotland is not harming Dembele’s international hopes.
Celtic’s Moussa Dembele
Perhaps due to the reputation surrounding the general standard of the Scottish Premiership, Celtic have adopted an approach in the transfer market that has seen them predominantly target youngsters who will move on a few years later for a considerably higher fee than what the Bhoys spent on them in the first place.
While that strategy pays off financially, they may not have taken such an approach if they had been able to sign some of Europe’s better players during the best years of their career.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers
However, with Zidane insisting that a coach of one of the strongest national teams is not put off turning to players playing in Scotland if they are playing well enough, it may perhaps now become easier for Celtic to attract those better players.
If other national coaches feel the same as Deschamps, then players can head to Celtic Park knowing that their international hopes will not be harmed by joining the Hoops.
And with the fact that Rodgers is starting to help the Bhoys make more of an impression in the Champions League again also making a move to Scotland even more appealing, perhaps Celtic can show a greater level of ambition during the summer transfer window.
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