Celtic striker Moussa Dembele has enjoyed a brilliant year with the Scottish Premiership side.
James Forrest has suggested that Moussa Dembele has been getting plenty of stick from his teammates following reports about his future, but praised the striker for the way that he has handled the rumours, the Evening Times reports.
The 20-year-old appears to have a list of clubs after him that seems to grow with each appearance he makes – the Mirror reported last week that Arsenal had joined Chelsea and Manchester City in the race to sign him. Nevertheless, the January window came and went without Dembele leaving Parkhead.
Celtic’s Moussa Dembele
And the Hoops faithful will certainly be delighted that he did stay put as his recent form has been sensational. He has scored a hat-trick in each of his last two appearances to help Brendan Rodgers’ men continue their domestic dominance.
And Forrest suggested that his ability to cope with the speculation has been a key reason why he continues to grab the headlines with his performances on the pitch.
“[The speculation] has not affected him at all. The boys have been giving him a wee bit of stick but he gets on with it,” he said, as reported by the Evening Times.
“You wouldn’t think he’s only 20 with the way he acts. That’s two hat-tricks in a row now. It’s a huge credit to him and the players around him for creating the chances.”
While it may ultimately prove too difficult for the Hoops to keep Dembele for much longer, his attitude should give Rodgers plenty of confidence that he will be able to get a lot out of him before he does potentially move on.
Brendan Rodgers suggests one Celtic player is as good as Premier League duo
He seems to have accepted that Celtic is the best place for him while he continues to perfect his game, and that willingness to get his head down may help ensure that the Bhoys get a premium price for him if they do sell him as interested clubs may feel that they will not be to unsettle him and thus, put Celtic in a difficult position.
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