Kilmarnock boss Lee Clark has raved about Celtic star Moussa Dembele.
Kilmarnock manager Lee Clark has revealed to the Daily Mail that he told his staff that Celtic had signed a ‘fantastic, all-round player’ in Moussa Dembele.
Striker Dembele, 20, left Fulham at the end of his contract over the summer, and after scoring 17 goals in all competitions last season, he chose to join Celtic in a deal which cost the Bhoys just £500,000 in compensation (Mirror).
After a slow start to the campaign, Dembele has exploded into life at Celtic, smashing 16 goals in 24 games, which included a hat-trick against Rangers and a Champions League brace against Manchester City.
Celtic’s Moussa Dembele
Dembele has managed to replace Leigh Griffiths – who hit 40 goals last season – as Celtic’s first choice striker, and add in that Dembele has also scored four goals in four games for the France Under-21’s, and it’s clear that Dembele has a huge future ahead of him.
The Daily Mail even claim that Arsenal, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain are tracking Dembele with a view to making a move for the Frenchman, as Celtic look to fend off interest in their new hero.
On Friday, Celtic travel to take on Kilmarnock, and Dembele will be hoping to keep up his great goalscoring form against a manager who rates him very, very highly.
Celtic’s Moussa Dembele celebrates scoring
Killie boss Lee Clark has links to Dembele’s former club Fulham having also played for the Cottagers, and has admitted to the Daily Mail that he saw a lot of Dembele last season, and is subsequently not surprised how he’s performing in Scotland.
Clark has added that he told his staff that Celtic had signed a ‘fantastic, all-round’ player who is still improving, and is surprised that more English clubs didn’t try to sign him over the summer.
Kilmarnock manager Lee Clark
“I know Moussa Dembele well from my links with my old club and it has not surprised me how well he’s done up here,” said Clark. “I saw him at close quarters at Fulham and I did a lot of TV work down south when he was partnering Ross McCormack up front. Ultimately, it was his partnership with Ross that saved my old club from relegation, given the amount of goals they scored between the two of them.”
“I wasn’t surprised Celtic were able to entice him up here because they and Rangers are massive clubs. But I was surprised there were not a lot more clubs down south fighting for him. However, that might have had to do with the fee they needed to pay if he stayed in England due to cross-border transfer rules. But I think a big move will be on the horizon in a few years as there will certainly be big clubs interested in Moussa.”
“As soon as he signed I told my staff that Celtic were getting a fantastic, all-round, young player who is still developing. I watched the France Under-21s game against England the other night and I saw a player with immense ability who is playing with a lot of confidence,” he added.
What have you made of Dembele’s start to life at Celtic?
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