WARNING SIGN
Let Dembele have a childhood and don’t make him another Feruz, says Lennon
THE ROAD to the demi-world of endless loan spells is littered with great promises and tempting inducements. If you could pin down the ever elusive Islam Feruz for ten minutes of rare honest self-assessment, he’d probably tell you as much.
Feruz’s is the cautionary tale most often cited whenever a young talent emerges to capture the imagination; the frenzy surrounding 13-year-old Karamoko Dembele over the past week inevitably prompts concern that he doesn’t follow the example set by another young protégé nurtured by Celtic.
Neil Lennon, who was Hoops boss when Feruz was enticed away from Glasgow by super-rich Chelsea, understands the comparisons.
Now at Hibs, one of the many clubs where Feruz tried — and failed — to find his feet in five years of increasingly desperate loan moves, Lennon offers some well-intentioned advice to Dembele and those who care about the boy.
‘He needs a good family set-up,’ said Lennon, with a nod to some of the outside influences that undermined all attempts to rein in Feruz’s impulsive instincts.
‘Advice? Don’t run too soon. Celtic as a club will do everything they can to protect him and do things in his best interest.
‘He is obviously a talent but he is still young and needs protected and handled the right way. I’m sure the club will do that. We would do the same for any player we had of that talent. Celtic want to keep a hold of Dembele and develop him in the right way.
‘I am sure there were lessons learned from Islam’s situation. We felt at the time that he was making the wrong decision. I don’t think he had the right structure in the background on the personal side of things to deal with what was lying ahead.
‘I think Islam is an example and there are many other examples out there. I don’t know the boy’s background and his family. But he’s a talent and he is good to watch — and he just needs nurtured and protected. We live in an age where clubs are well structured to do that.’
Lennon cuts himself off when he describes Dembele as an ‘asset’ to Celtic, administering some gentle self-admonishment for using such a term about a boy still several years short of even being old enough to leave school, never mind focus on a career.
‘Dembele is still a kid,’ said the former Northern Ireland captain. ‘And, hopefully, he can still have a nice upbringing and enjoy his football.
‘The fact that he has some exposure in the last few months might make things a little bit different for him. We also need to remember he is a 13-year-old kid and I am not all that comfortable talking about him, just because he is so young.’
Hibs themselves have played a 15-year-old, Yrik Galantes, in their Under-20 squad. Those two extra years he has on Dembele make the world of a difference.
‘He is a good kid, good parents and he is in his formative years,’ said Lennon of his own promising youngster. ‘He is 15 and has been in the Under-20s — but we are in no rush to bring him forward.
‘Can he handle the physicality? It seems as if he can. He played 10-15 minutes in the development game against Inverness on Tuesday and did okay but he’s still got a long way to go. I’m in no rush to push him forward, we want him to develop with the rest of them.
‘I would imagine Celtic will take the same path with Dembele. Sometimes you can’t stop it, though. Who knows where the kid will be at 16?
‘I just hope that Dembele keeps progressing but, now that he is in the public eye, he will have more people looking out for him.
‘I think Celtic will do as much as they can to protect him in terms of letting him develop and let him have a normal childhood.
‘Just because he is a very talented footballer, he is still a human being and he is still a boy — and he deserves the chance to have a well-balanced upbringing.’
In an era when 18-year-olds are making Scottish first teams on a more regular basis, and when 19-year-old Oliver Burke can be a £15million player and a full international, perhaps we should expect the youth teams to start taking more chances on younger and younger kids — and more teenagers to break into the big time.
‘I worry about going younger and younger,’ said Lennon. ‘I think 18 is the cut-off point, from my point of view, in terms of playing for the first team — unless they’re really exceptional.’