Celtic host Rangers in the first Old Firm derby this weekend.
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers says it’s highly unlikely Moussa Dembele will be involved against Rangers this weekend as speculation continues to mount over his future at the club, Sky Sports report.
It is claimed within the report that Dembele walked off the training pitch on Friday following a chat with Rodgers over a failed bid from French side Lyon who are keen to sign the striker.
With Rangers heading to Celtic Park looking to extend their unbeaten run under new manager Steven Gerrard, Rodgers would have been hopeful of having his star striker focused on the upcoming Old Firm derby.
Instead, it appears the former Fulham man is pushing for an exit, and when asked whether he will be in line to face the Gers on Sunday, boss Rodgers responded by saying that is very unlikely.
“Highly unlikely. We will see, you never know,” Rodgers responded when asked if Dembele will face Rangers.
The former Liverpool boss continued, when asked about Dembele’s Twitter comments: “At this time of season there is always a narrative around players and agents trying to force moves. It is disappointing. I would be disappointed if it was [aimed] at myself.”
Should Celtic look to move Moussa Dembele on?
In the aftermath of Lyon’s reported rejected bid, Dembele apparently turned to Twitter to vent his frustration by suggesting that somebody hadn’t kept their word on a former promise.
Whether that was aimed at Rodgers isn’t entirely certain, but now the former Liverpool manager has a problem on his hands whereby his star striker evidently wants to leave Celtic Park.
The Scottish Premiership champions could command a decent fee for him, but Dembele is still young and there is so much more to come from him.
The 22-year-old’s contract doesn’t expire until 2020 so Celtic aren’t in a position where they are forced to sell him this summer but keeping hold of an unhappy player may not be the best decision.
With Odsonne Edouard also showing enormous potential, however, perhaps the Hoops wouldn’t miss him as much as first feared.
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