LYON MAKE £20M BID FOR DEMBELE
...but Brendan doesn’t want him to leave a hole
BRENDAN Rodgers is reluctant to allow Moussa Dembele to leave Celtic without first signing a replacement, but has acknowledged the pulling power of Lyon to the French under-21 internationalist. The French side are on the cusp of formalising their interest in the striker with a bid that could
stretch beyond the £20m mark with Dembele absent from Celtic’s Lennoxtown training ground yesterday.
Marseille have been keeping tabs on Dembele this summer but it is Lyon, who confirmed the sale of striker Mariano Diaz back to Real Madrid for £22m yesterday after just one season in France, who were closing in on the player yesterday.
With Champions League football to offer to the French under-21 internationalist and a platform to push for inclusion into Didier Deschamps’ World Cup winning squad, Dembele is believed to be keen on making the move back to his homeland after two years in Glasgow.
And while Rodgers believes he cannot afford to sell Dembele given the lack of time to get another striker in, he has acknowledged that from the player’s perspective that isn’t an issue.
“For a player, they are not so much worried about who is going to come in and replace them. It’s just for them and their position,” said Rodgers.
“I have empathy with that and we just have to deal with that.
“That’ll be about the individual player. But of course there’s also the timing for the club.
“It’s only two days before the end of the window and the club’s now have to deal with something like this now.
“So there’s a lot to take in, but you certainly can’t let your top striker move on without even having anyone to come in and replace him.”
Dembele missed training yesterday morning to meet with his agent at Celtic Park for discussions with the club about his next step. That came on the back of the Lyon president, Jean-Michael Aulas confirming that they had made an approach to Celtic about the player.
“The situation with Moussa is he had a lot going on,” said Rodgers. “Moussa, with his representatives, was at the club, speaking in the situation that has evolved in recent says. So he didn’t train.
“I think it’s difficult for players. There comes a certain time.
“If the window shuts and the players are here, it’s a lot easier for players because they know then there is no movement until January.”
Meanwhile, Celtic were were also linked with a move for Stoke right-back Mortitz Bauer.
The Austrian signed a five-year contract extension in July but has been on the Parkhead side’s radar as they look to get players in before Friday’s deadline.