BURLEY: Moussa nailed on for £40m Chelsea switch
FORMER Celtic star Craig Burley believes Moussa Dembele is “nailed on” to join Chelsea this summer.
And while the player turned pundit described Scottish football as an embarrassment on American sports channel ESPN, he still believes the striker will move for close to £40m.
Burley moved from Chelsea to Celtic in 1997 when he helped stop Rangers win 10 league titles in a row and was named Player of the Year at the end of a historic season.
But his frank talking has since angered Celtic fans for refusing to go easy on his old club in the media.
And while he has tipped the new hero of the stands to quit for England in a few months, the former Scotland international
believed the Frenchman’s transfer will shatter the Scottish transfer record because he so so much better than everyone else in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Burley said: “Scottish football is quite embarrassing at the moment in terms of the standard,but Dembele is head and shoulders above the rest.
“He’s a good player and is young. Chelsea, I’m hearing, are the favourites to sign him.
“Talking to one or two guys I know back in Scotland, they said he is pretty much nailed on to go to Chelsea and possibly for around £40m.”
The Celtic support have understandably grown weary of stories linking the 20-year-old Frenchman with an imminent move away from their club.
Even if by all accounts his fee would equal what Celtic tend to earn when qualifying for the Champions League, which would help push them even further ahead of the chasing pack.
However, there is little Brendan Rodgers can do in terms of speculation, genuine interest in his player and any bid which is sure to come in the future.
And while Dembele has spoken in the past about becoming “the best striker in the world” neither he or his agent has ever even hinted about a move away from Glasgow this summer.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said last month that his club had not been interested in a January move for a man who cost only £500,000 to lure him from Fulham in June.
But the London club, huge favourites to win this season’s English Premier League, have scouted Demeble for months along with some of the biggest names in European football.