Not a single bid for Moussa Dembele, insists Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers

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Celtic are yet to receive an actual bid from any club for Moussa Dembele, according to their manager.

Brendan Rodgers has claimed Celtic have received “not one bid” for French striker Moussa Dembele.

The 21-year-old has scored 40 goals in 70 appearances for the Bhoys since joining from Fulham in 2016, and he has constantly been surrounded by transfer rumours as a result of his devastating performances.

Dembele played a vital role in Celtic’s treble-winning season last year, despite suffering an injury that kept him out for much of the latter stages of the campaign.

Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion emerged as the most recent club to be interested in securing the youngster’s services, however, these claims have been rubbished by Albion boss Chris Hughton.

As reported by the Daily Express, while admitting that various enquires over Dembele have been made, not a single bid for the Frenchman has been put in place, with the Glasgow side yet to receive a concrete offer for the forward.

“My mind is that he’s a Celtic player and we have not had one bid,” Rodgers explained. “I do not want to keep going on about it because it can affect players, especially young players.

“There has been a lot of noise around Moussa for 18 months now but let’s be clear, we have not had one bid.

“There have been enquires around him, but not one bid. He has been linked with about 16 clubs, but the bottom line is you have to play football. Always be ready to play and then, if a move comes, it comes.”

Dembele has not quite reached the heights he achieved last season with injuries also hampering his time on the pitch this term. He has formed quite the rivalry with fellow striker Leigh Griffiths, as the two of them have gone head to head for the no. 9 starting position in Rodgers’ squad.

Nevertheless, the French under-21 international has still found the net eight times this season, producing enough quality for the rumours to remain.

Dembele would be a welcome addition to most Premier League squads and he remains one of Europe’s brightest young talents in his position.

“All the talk can be very unhelpful for a young player,” Brendan went on to add.

“If you’ve been linked with so many clubs over a period of time, big clubs, less clubs, foreign clubs, British clubs, then it surely can be unsettling. It’s not something that ends up being good for a player.

“What is important for him is to concentrate on what you can control, which is the football.”