The Ibrox outfit were astounded by Dembele’s talent, according to his old mentor.
Rangers never seem interested in our players, the coach who developed Celtic wonderkid Karamoko Dembele has told the Daily Record.
Dembele became an internet sensation when he appeared as a substitute in the Bhoys’ Under-20s’ 3-1 win against Hearts on Monday – at the age of 13!
David Feeney, who worked with the Ivory Coast born teen at former club Park Villa, says Rangers were ‘astounded’ by Dembele’s skills, but by the time they bothered to check him out he was already tied to Celtic.
“Even though he was tied with Celtic and ourselves and Rangers knew that, they still wanted to see him for themselves,” Feeney told the Daily Record.
“We were able to get a match at Murray Park and the Rangers staff were astounded with what he was able to do. They were trying to see how good he was.
“The only only reason we got that friendly was because we had a contact at Ibrox.
“Rangers are disappointing. They could help us so much because they’re on our doorstep but they don’t seem to bother.
“Despite Rangers being so near us, only two boys have gone to them. They never seem interested in our players.
“Queen’s Park, Hearts, Motherwell and Celtic are always looking at our boys but Rangers seem to be different, they just didn’t seem to be keen on our players.”
If true, it would not the first time this past month that Rangers have been haunted by the surname Dembele, after Karamoko’s namesake Moussa bagged a hat-trick in Celtic’s 5-1 Old Firm success.
The latter, who is not related to the youngster, arrived at Celtic Park from Fulham in the summer and has scored 12 goals in his first 17 Bhoys appearances.
In September, Rangers academy boss Craig Mulholland admitted via the Glasgow Evening Times it could take a few years for Mark Warburton’s side to benefit from a recent overhaul to the club’s youth system.
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