Siriki Dembele is a ‘Crystal Palace player’ who shares a few similarities with Wilfried Zaha, Peterborough United owner Darragh MacAnthony told the Hard Truth podcast.
The Posh have an enviable record when it comes to developing some of the most exciting young talent in the Football League before selling them on for a sizeable profit.
As Dembele ran rings around Shrewsbury Town in October with a hat-trick his Lyon-based namesake would have been proud of, it felt only a matter of time before Siriki was following in the footsteps of Dwight Gayle, Ivan Toney and co.
TEAMtalk reports that Wolverhampton Wanderers, Queens Park Rangers, Brentford and a Derby County side who raided Peterborough for Jack Marriott in 2018 are all circling.
Dembele has also been handed the chance to link up with his younger brother, Karamoko, at Celtic.
“Siriki will be the next one we sell to the Premier League. In fact, one club is desperate to sign him and I’ve told them to come back in January and then next summer,” MacAnthony explained of the former Grimsby prospect.
“We don’t want to sell him in January, but without a bailout we’d have had to do what’s best for the club. Siriki could play in the Premier League now without a doubt.
“Funnily enough Dembele reminds me of Wilfried Zaha. He’s definitely a Crystal Palace type player.”
MacAnthony has a point.
Crystal Palace’s 5-1 demolition of West Brom on Sunday was inspired by not only Zaha but also Ebere Eze; a skillful, scheming, two-footed attacker who also made a name for himself in the Football League – a la Dembele.
Palace have made a concerted effort to reduce the average age of their squad in recent months while targeting exciting youngsters from the lower leagues, landing Nathan Ferguson and being linked with the likes of Omar Richards.
The Chronicle claims that Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce travelled to Crewe recently to scout Dembele in the flesh in a League One clash with Peterborough.
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