Is it time to cash in on Dembele?
VIRGIL van Dijk, Victor Wanyama and Fraser Forster went for large fees at the right time. Artur Boruc, Beram Kayal and Emilio Izaguirre hung around too long and became rapidly diminishing assets.
When it comes to flogging their crown jewels, the trick for Celtic has never changed.
Spotting the right moment to take the money and run.
Back in 2008, Avram Grant wanted to take Boruc to Chelsea, but baulked at paying £15million to sign a back-up for Petr Cech. Within two years, Fiorentina were able to sign the erratic Pole for £2m.
Kayal began life in Glasgow like a man in a hurry to win a move to Liverpool or Manchester.
One bone-breaking clash with Lee McCulloch was all it took to kill the speculation stone dead.
The Israeli midfielder eventually joined Brighton and the response of supporters was a shrug of indifference.
And then there’s Izaguirre. Going great guns as Celtic’s best left-back for years, he suffered a broken leg in Aberdeen in 2011. Linked with a big-money move to every top club in England, he eventually switched to the footballing superpower of Saudi Arabia for a million quid last year.
All of which raises the conundrum of Moussa Dembele.
No one thinks the striker’s next move will be to a tax-free retirement job.
But if Celtic are to multiply the best £400,000 they’ll ever spend, next month is the time to do it.
Because January is the window when desperate managers spend desperate sums.
Everton are crying out for a striker and asked former Celtic scout David Moss about Dembele in the summer.
Brighton are weighing up a £20m bid. And might go as high as £25m.
Celtic are holding out for £30m on the premise that Dembele is banging on the door of the French World Cup squad and scoring in the Champions League. The fact he plays in Scotland shouldn’t make the blindest bit of difference to his fee.
Yet the truth is this. The Parkhead club may have limited control over when Dembele goes. Or how much a buyer is willing to pay.
If the player himself decides his time in Glasgow is up and someone offers £20m — take it or leave it — it’s game over.
Sounding for all the world like a man with one suitcase already packed and ready to go, Dembele said this week: ‘I can say it is part of the plan (to stay), but the plan can change.’
Spare us any nonsense about the ‘Scottish Mainstream Media’ hounding players out of Scotland.
Where Dembele is concerned, everyone knows the score.
His agent met Celtic in a London hotel two years ago and cut a mutually beneficial deal.
The Scottish champions would acquire a rough diamond for a knockdown fee, stick him into the Champions League then flog him for a tidy profit after a couple of years. Eighteen months in, a decision may now be hastened by the fact the former Fulham striker hasn’t quite matched the heights of last season. Last term’s haul of 32 goals in 49 games included a double against Manchester City in the Champions League.
A return of eight goals in 17 games this campaign is by no means poor.
An 11-minute hat-trick for the French Under-21 team just last month reminded everyone of the explosive, potentially world-class scoring talent he is.
But glimpses of that Dembele have been fleeting of late.
Hamstring injuries have become a recurring pattern. He rarely looks 100-per-cent fit. On a good day, he’s a formidable specimen. On a bad one, the scouts could leave after 20 minutes.
Last season, Leigh Griffiths was the only rival up front. Because neither player can be relied upon to stay fully fit for any length of time, Brendan Rodgers added Odsonne Edouard to the mix.
Two strikers for one place is tight. Three risks huffs and tantrums.
Celtic don’t need Dembele to retain their Scottish league title. Keeping him offers no guarantee of a long run in the Europa League.
Rodgers wants to bridge the chasm between third and second in a Champions League group. To that end, he wants a No 10 and two central defenders in the January transfer window. And he needs decent backing to get them.
If an offer in excess of £20m comes in for Dembele, then, the Parkhead club should see it for what it is.
The right time to shake the French striker’s hand and bid him a fond adieu.