Now not time for Celtic to look on the Bright side...
CELTIC fans will have woken up on Christmas Day to the odd surprise, and not necessarily in their stocking. News seemed to break during the day that Moussa Dembele was on his way to Brighton for £18milllion. It soon transpired that this was nothing more than gossip, but it raises an important point surrounding the future of the French U21 internationalist.
Celtic will sell him at some stage. We know that. His contract runs until 2020 but there comes a point where a football club, especially in Scotland, has to cash in on an asset. Even if you are Celtic you play by those rules and put money to good use.
They will make a lot on him. That’s why it surprised me when I heard the figure of £18m because knowing the English market that struck me as being on the low side. It then emerged there was no bid.
Brendan Rodgers is a pragmatist. I don’t think he wants to sell, but you look at Dembele this season. He’s not been as spectacular as he was last term. He now hasn’t scored in the last five. Yes, he’s had his injuries and now he’s sitting at eight goals in 19 THE noises from Rangers have been hitting the right note in recent days.
But it’s the talking on the park which will matter the most when they take on Motherwell tonight at Ibrox on the back of the defeat to Kilmarnock on Saturday.
Declan John and Jason Holt have both said they must bounce back and it’s good to see players put pressure on themselves. It would be a third straight defeat if they lost to an injury-hit Motherwell which would be a huge blow.
It already has the feeling of another transitional season. It shouldn’t be but with Graeme Murty in charge it’s all about for the season. You ask the question is he the difference between Celtic winning a Treble or progressing in Europe? I don’t know if he is.
I think it does come down to the optimum time to sell. Most serious business is done in the summer and not January. Celtic will weigh that up.
I can understand why Brighton are linked with him. He’s a proven goalscorer who could keep them up. He could finding some stability. It’s time the Rangers players took responsibility for their poor performances. The manager can only be blamed for so much.
There have been so many sloppy displays in this campaign. Rangers are right to speak about bouncing back and showing their mettle because Mothewrwell, even with absentees, have shown they have that spikeyness about them and won’t be passive.
At the moment it’s all about damage limitation for Rangers. A lot of questions are being of Rangers, and their fans won’t accept if answers aren’t given. be a God send for them.
The offer is on the low side. There was talk of him being worth £45m a year ago, that’s unrealistic as well. He’s not done it enough to be that level of player. But around £25m-£30m may be closer to the mark given the madness of the English transfer market.
The player also needs to think of his immediate goals. France are keen to go with youth at the World Cup this summer and Dembele has certainly done it for the U21 side. Brendan being the clever manager he is will be telling him to use Celtic as that platform, for him to use it to his advantage. He will know the player wants to progress beyond Celtic but there is still work for him to be done here.
He has tailed off, there’s no doubt about that. At one point a year ago he looked like he was destined to be one of the top 10 strikers in the world. But every player has a price.
In terms of his strike partners, I feel for Leigh Griffiths. When he arrived there were doubts about him on and off the pitch, people thought Neil Lennon had taken a punt on a raw striker who hadn’t really proved himself. The thing was he had, a lot of what he did at Hibs and Wolves was overlooked.
For me, he’s still the best Scottish finisher there is. You still believe he can do something special. It’ll be a relief for him to score against Dundee to end a run of six games without a goal.
I think he’s slightly under appreciated and people think he’s a piece of the supporting cast when it comes to Dembele.
He should be at the peak of his career and I certainly hope if Dembele does go that Leigh is given his chance.