Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers says Dembele is back to his best

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers believes that Moussa Dembele is back to his very best.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is currently preparing his side for their biggest game of the season to date against bitter rivals Rangers, and he is not shy when it comes to warning Graeme Murty’s men about their most prized possession.

Dembele will likely be a thorn in Rangers’ side all afternoon this weekend, with the Daily Record reporting that Rodgers has the utmost confidence in his star player.

“Yeah, he is back to his best,” he said. “I think the background noise has gone. That’s absolutely key for any player.

“I think what you see now is a young player free now in his mind to focus on his strengths.”

The rise of Moussa Dembele has been a gradual one, with more and more eyes being drawn to the 21-year-old’s capabilities of late. After completing his move over from Fulham back in 2016, it soon became obvious that he was going to thrive in the environment of Scottish football and, thankfully for his development, he has stuck it out up north despite growing interest from elsewhere.

So often in the present day, it feels like young stars are poached before they are ready for the big time, which either leads to the pressure becoming too much or a spot on the bench for most of their tenure. Under Brendan Rodgers, though, Dembele has been able to get his head down and focus on his own game, despite a slight dip due to injury.

Now that the window has closed, the distractions are gone until the summer at the very least, and you could argue that Dembele is one of the primary reasons why Celtic supporters are so overwhelmingly confident about their chances of retaining the Scottish Premiership title in May.

Not only is his finishing something to be afraid of, but he is starting to gain more strength on the ball as well as confidence. That is what remaining in a system you are familiar with can do for a player, and it is something that will prove beneficial in a game as physical as the Old Firm derby this weekend.