Celtic star Moussa Dembele was the subject of offers from Premier League duo Swansea City and West Ham United in August.
The best piece of business Celtic did this summer was hanging onto star striker Moussa Dembele. One year and 32 goals after they nabbed the prolific Frenchman from Fulham for just £500,000 (BBC), the Scottish champions were forced to fend off huge interest in their star man.
Established European giants like AC Milan, Chelsea and Liverpool were heavily linked but L’Equipe (22nd November, page 6) reports that Dembele was also the subject of offers from a number of Premier League clubs – and not just the top ones either.
The report states that Brendan Rodgers’ side were forced to bat away ‘concrete interest’ from both West Ham United and Swansea City in August.
The Hammers made a new striker a priority in the summer but even after signing Javier Hernandez from Bayer Leverkusen, it appears that they were ready to pay big for another striker with Dembele reportedly valued at around £30 million.
And Swansea, who’s current record signing is the £15.5 million flop Borja Baston (BBC), will be wishing they had managed to tempt Celtic into a sale somehow with Paul Clement’s side sitting second from bottom in the Premier League with just two wins all season.
While Dembele hasn’t quite found his best form yet this season, managing just six goals after returning from a niggling hamstring injury, the France Under-21 ace would have provided a real dash of star quality in an often toothless Swansea attack.
Celtic manager Rodgers admitted himself that Dembele is unlikely to stay at Celtic beyond 2018 – but with the 21-year-old already on the radar of countless European superclubs, you wonder whether the chance has passed West Ham and Swansea by.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
