C’MON SELLTIC
Hartson: I think Celts would take £25m for Moussa but they must smash their record fee for a new superstar if they let hitman go
JOHN HARTSON is convinced Celtic will sell Moussa Dembele if a whopping £25million offer comes in for the striker. And the former hitman has urged the Hoops hierarchy to hand Brendan Rodgers the funds to shatter the club transfer record for a replacement if they let Dembele exit Parkhead. Celtic haven’t spent more than £6m on a player since Martin O’Neill signed Hartson 16 years ago just 12 months after shelling out the same transfer fee for Record Sport columnist Chris Sutton. French Under-21 international Dembele was signed for a £500,000 snip from Fulham last summer and bagged 32 goals in an outstanding debut season in Glasgow. He has been linked with a move to some of Europe’s top clubs but Rodgers insists Celtic are in no rush to sell the 20-year-old star. Hartson though believes the money being talked about is too good to turn down and should be given to help Rodgers strengthen the side along with the bulk of the £26m raked in from the Champions League. He said: “I think Celtic will sell Dembele if they get £25m. Chris Sutton did an interview with Brendan before the Aberdeen away game last season. “Chris said that night Brendan is in charge and they don’t have to sell anyone. That’s great, the fans want to hear that, but I feel if they get a massive offer he will go. “It’s okay talking about turning it down but when you actually see a bid in black and white and it says £25m then it’s difficult to turn down. “If he sells Dembele and they get the right money for him then they he’ll obviously need to add another striker. “They need quality and they’ve got money. They earned from the Champions League and if they sell Dembele then it’s the best part of £50m. “I’m not saying give it all to Brendan but in the last few years Celtic have been unable to go £6m for a player who has come out of the Premier League because of what they cost now.
“Some players are going for ridiculous money but the money is there so they could possibly break the club’s transfer record.
“Good managers replace good players with good players. That’s how you keep progressing. Dembele might stay and Brendan might coax him to remain for another year. That would be the ideal situation.
“The club will know now what they want to do. Brendan will be sitting on holiday somewhere on his phone and looking around to see who he can add.
“But if Dembele goes he needs to get someone in sharpish. With that type of bid being talked about, when you’ve only paid £500,000 then it’s hard to turn down.
“It would be great if they could hold on to him because they could end up getting more than £25m. If he goes down to England and scores 25 goals in his first season then he’s worth £75m next season. That’s how crazy football is now.”
Celtic have only recruited Jonny Hayes so far with the chances of signing Patrick Roberts looking slim. Hartson would love to see the Manchester City winger back at Parkhead but, apart from that, doesn’t believe Rodgers needs to add much to last season’s treble winners.
He said: “The only pressure is what Brendan puts on himself because they’re breaking all sorts of records and he’s doing what no Celtic manager has for years.
“But he’ll want to get to the knockout stage of the Champions League and emulate Martin O’Neill and Neil Lennon.
“He will add a couple. He might lose Dembele, he’ll obviously lose Roberts. But he’s in a great place and loved by the fans so he can do things his way and get the backing.
“What other manager can drop a 40-goal striker and get praised? Brendan did and Leigh Griffiths came back a much stronger player.
“I’m a big fan of Leigh and he’ll score in the Champions League and proved last week he can score at international level.
“They’ll add one or two. They don’t need to add an awful lot.
“Jonny Hayes is very similar to Pat whom they have just lost. He can be a player, he has a goal in him and his performances at Aberdeen have been terrific.
“He deserves an opportunity to go and play with the biggest and best team in Scotland. Brendan has obviously noticed that Jonny is a player a lot of clubs down south would like.
“He is a good character with a great attitude and ability. He will have to work to get into the Celtic team like Pat did at first but when he got in he was effective and Jonny will bring competition for places.
“He is a quality player and that is the type Celtic need.”
Hartson reckons his old club will go for quality as opposed to the quantity approach of their Old Firm rivals with Pedro Caixinha set to bring in up to nine new faces.
He said: “Mark Warburton brought in 13 last season and how many can you say were a success? It is okay bringing in numbers but surely you would rather have three of real quality rather than 10 or 12 to make up the squad.
“It is hard to pick up players for £1m or £500,000 and think they are going to make a difference.
“You go back to Martin O’Neill’s days – he bought myself for £6m, Chris Sutton for £6m, Neil Lennon for £6m and Alan Thompson and we got to a UEFA Cup Final.
“I know the money is not there now but big clubs want big players to make an impact in Europe.
“You would sooner bring in two or three of real quality. If I was the manager of Rangers I’d be asking for £10m and I would bring in three players – one at £4m and two at £3m.
“You might find a diamond like Henrik Larsson for £650k or Brian Laudrup who was a genius for £2.5m but in general big clubs want quality players and Hayes fits that category.
“I said Rangers would finish fourth last season and they were third. The battle for all the others is second because Celtic are so far ahead. “They might lose the odd game but for the next two or three years you might as well give Celtic the title. Rangers, Aberdeen, St Johnstone and Hearts are all battling
for second.”