‘Dembele will go for record fee’

BRENDAN RODGERS has predicted Moussa Dembele will smash the Scottish transfer record — but is adamant it won’t happen in January. The 20-year-old Frenchman has been a revelation since joining Celtic for a compensation fee (£500k) from Fulham in the summer. His 16 club goals had already brought him to the attention of clubs including Manchester United before two strikes for France Under-21s against England this week confirmed the former PSG protege as one of the hottest talents in Europe. Signed on a four-year deal, Rodgers fully anticipates Dembele will eventually

move for a fee in excess of the record £12.5million paid by Southampton for Victor Wanyama three years ago. But despite Dembele now being closely scrutinised by many of Europe’s superpowers, Rodgers insists Celtic will resist any temptation to make a handsome quick profit on their investment. ‘We’re all realistic here,’ said the Celtic boss. ‘Part of my role coming in here was accepting that, if you’ve got top talents, they may only be here for a couple of years then move on. We’ve seen it with Victor Wanyama, Virgil van Dijk and Ki Sung-yueng. ‘But he’s only really just come in and he loves it here. It’s a huge club. Everyone is idolised here. You’ve got Champions League football. ‘He’s really enjoying this process of learning and playing for a big club. I’m sure at some point later down the line it may happen but it’s certainly not something we’re looking at now. He’s signed a four-year deal and he’s only five or six months into it.’ Asked what kind of fee the player could eventually fetch, Rodgers replied: ‘The price tag will be whatever. It’s not for me to speculate. But the kid is clearly one of the great potential strikers in the world. ‘I’ve worked with players who’ve gone for a lot of money. Raheem Sterling went for £49m, Luis (Suarez) went for the money he went for (£65m). He was an international player and, after two years, he left a world-class player. So, this kiddie has the potential in value. Celtic won’t have to worry about players going for £10m any more.’ Rodgers, yesterday named Ladbrokes manager of the month for October, feels there is no external pressure being put on Dembele to angle for a move in the New Year. ‘The thing I’ll say about him and his agent is they want to learn and develop. They could have gone to a number of clubs in the summer and got more money. ‘But he wants to try and do it the right way — get the experience of coming to a big club, learn and develop. But there will come a time when he’ll move on. In fairness to him, he’s been fantastic. ‘When they’re talking through his games this year and talking about scoring hat-tricks in the derby game, scoring League Cup semi-final winners and scoring two goals in the Champions League and in an important game against Borussia Monchengladbach, there are not many other players on that field who are doing that.’ His emergence coincides with namesake Karamoko Dembele being elevated to the Scotland Victory Shield side despite still being just 13 years of age. Despite intense speculation that Celtic could lose the teenage sensation to bigger fish, Rodgers feels his grounding will see him remain in Glasgow for the time being. ‘Of course there’s interest, but they (his family) are very clued in,’ he said. ‘They’re not so keen to leave an academy for another academy. ‘Young Karamoko is already in the system. If he keeps progressing, he can, hopefully, reach the first team (here), and then maybe he moves to join another first team. He’s a great kid, loves Celtic, as does his family.’