Leigh Griffiths warns new Celtic signing Moussa Dembele he won’t give up first-team spot without a fight and suggests implementing new system

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The Frenchman became Brendan Rodgers’ first signing since taking over at the Scottish Premiership side.

Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths celebrates after scoring

Leigh Griffiths has welcomed Moussa Dembele to Celtic by insisting that he does not plan to give up his place in the team without a fight, but also suggested that he would love to play alongside the new signing if Brendan Rodgers opted for a new system at Parkhead, the Evening Times reports.

The 19-year-old became the first signing of the Northern Irishman’s tenure when he signed a four-year deal on Tuesday, the Evening Times reports.

Moussa Dembele completed his move to Celtic on Tuesday

And while his form during his final season with Fulham suggests that he is already ready to give opposition defenders a torrid time – he scored 15 goals in 43 Championship appearances – he is joining a Bhoys side that predominantly played with just one forward last year to devastating effect as Griffiths went on to score 31 league goals to inspire the side to the title.

And Griffiths has fired a warning that suggests that Dembele will have to rely on Rodgers adopting a new formation if he hopes to be a first-team regular.

“Anybody that the gaffer signs will be welcomed to this club but he is going to have a tough job on his hands to move me out of the team,” he told the Evening Times.

“Hopefully, we can work together if he goes with two or three up front. Hopefully, the gaffer can find a space for both of us.

“I concentrate on what I do. I just work hard on and off the pitch and if I do that the manager will find it difficult to leave me out.”

Rodgers has often tried to instil a free-flowing, attacking philosophy into his teams, and part of that has involved using at least two strikers to ask as many questions of opposition defenders as possible.

And with his predecessor Ronny Deila coming in for criticism due to the disappointing style that ultimately relied on Griffiths’ incredible form to be at all successful, the former Liverpool boss will surely be hoping to create a system that allows Dembele to play alongside the 25-year-old as it seems unlikely that the opposition will be able to contain the pair if their styles blend together well.