Ronny Deila wanted Moussa Dembele at Celtic before his exit.
Ronny Deila has revealed to The Glasgow Evening Times that he identified Moussa Dembele as a target six months before he wound up joining Celtic.
The Norwegian manager quit Celtic in May 2016 and was ultimately replaced by Brendan Rodgers, who masterminded a domestic treble, without losing a game, last season.
Much of that success was down to Dembele, who netted 30 goals in all competitions during a phenomenal first season at Parkhead following a £500,000 switch from Fulham.
Nevertheless, Deila admits he was happy to see the 21-year-old scale those heights last season, but reveals to The GET that he might have ended up in Glasgow had he not left.
“In the January transfer window we had identified Moussa as a player that we would like but we knew that it wouldn’t happen at that point in the season.
“The aim was also to get him in over the summer. We thought he was a good, young, talented player and it was nice for me last season to see the impact he had at Celtic.
“He was outstanding but I never look and think what might have been.”
He may or may not have ended up at Celtic, but Rodgers certainly deserves a lot of credit for how he has turned out.
Dembele is clearly a fine talent but it’s hard to imagine that Deila – who now manages Valarenga – would have gotten more out of him last season than the Northern Irishman did.
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