John Hartson believes Manchester United could look to bring in Moussa Dembele.
Celtic’s Moussa Dembele
Pundit John Hartson has told BBC 606 that he wouldn’t be surprised if Manchester United make a summer bid for Celtic striker Moussa Dembele.
Dembele, 20, impressed with Fulham last season having hit 17 goals in all competitions, with his form unsurprisingly attracting huge interest.
In January 2016, Tottenham looked set to sign Dembele before a deal fell through (The Guardian), and with his contract expiring at Craven Cottage, Celtic swooped to land Dembele in a cut-price deal.
Cross-border contract regulations meant that Celtic were able to nip in and sign Dembele for a knockdown compensation fee, when an English club would have had to pay millions to sign the Frenchman.
Dembele has so far repaid Brendan Rodgers’ faith in him, as he has hit 27 goals in 41 games this season, including two hat-tricks in his last three appearances.
The young striker looks set for a huge transfer in the near future, with Chelsea allegedly keen on a £40million deal during last month’s January transfer window (The Independent).
Celtic will do well to fend off interest in Dembele at the end of the season, with the Daily Mail recently reporting that Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is interested in Dembele, as he sees him as being similar to his former Chelsea hero Didier Drogba.
John Hartson
Now, pundit John Hartson has told BBC 606 that he wouldn’t be surprised if United did make a move for Dembele at the end of the season, as they are regularly interested in the best players – and Dembele fits the bill.
“It was a wonderful coup for Brendan Rodgers to pay the amount that he did to Fulham for Dembele. £20m or £30m, who knows?” said Hartson. “If it becomes an auction in the summer and you’ve got the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea all bidding, the fee could go absolutely astronomical.”
“That’s the big question then is can Dembele perform? He has scored goals in the Champions League. Manchester United are always in for the best players available so I wouldn’t be surprised if they came in in the summer and give Celtic something to think about in terms of the bid,” he added.
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