Dembele urged to stay by Celtic team-mates
MOUSSA DEMBELE was last night urged to shelve any thoughts of leaving Celtic until the summer transfer window.
As Sportsmail first revealed, the Parkhead striker is a £20million target for Brighton, while Everton and West Ham have also been linked with moves for the France Under-21 striker this month.
Speaking from Celtic’s
winter training HQ in Dubai, however, midfielder Callum McGregor urged Dembele to stick around to assist the Parkhead club’s quest to make history by winning back-to-back domestic trebles. ‘That’s obviously going to be a big draw for players like him,’ said the Scotland international. ‘It’s just about him wanting to be here to kick on, work hard and be part of this group. ‘Obviously, all the boys love him and want him to stay and to be part of it. I don’t think he’ll be thinking of going anywhere. ‘You think back to the Aberdeen game up there where he was unplayable. He looked like a real top player. ‘If we can get him playing like that every week, it’s obviously great for the group going forward and to win things.’ Brighton boss Chris Hughton has repeatedly refused to rule out a move for the 21-year-old. Keen to establish Dembele’s willingness to commit before lodging a formal bid, however, the Seagulls face possible competition from elsewhere. Despite the £25m capture of Turkish international Cenk Tosun, Everton are reported to be scouring the market for another striker. Leigh Griffiths (right) is also a target for Swansea and MLS club Sporting Kansas City, while Stuart Armstrong has been linked once again to a £10m move to Southampton. Claiming the speculation has barely been mentioned in the Celtic dressing room, however, McGregor added: ‘You hear wee bits and see things in the paper when you come in the next day and maybe make a passing comment or a bit of banter about it. ‘In the main, everyone is focused on being here and I don’t think they are thinking about getting away. They just want to keep being successful and staying part of this group. We’ve been so successful until now because we have a good group. ‘We’re all good lads who want to do well and work hard for each other. ‘That’s important, that when you have a group like this that you all stick together and we keep pushing on. ‘Last season was so special that it brought the boys even closer together. ‘If we can kick on then we could potentially do it again. But we need the group to stay focused and stay hungry. When you feel part of a successful team, that’s where you want to stay. You want to keep being successful. ‘For me, there’s more to come and we’re striding on to get better.’ Midfielder Nir Bitton is poised to join the Celtic squad in Dubai today as Brendan Rodgers makes preparations for an assault on a double Treble — a feat beyond any Scottish club in the past. ‘It would be an incredible achievement,’ added McGregor. ‘I think back to last year and how big an achievement that was, winning the Treble. If we could go and do it again, that would be something really special. ‘But we can only look at the next game when we’re back.’ Celtic fringe midfielder Liam Henderson, meanwhile, has gone on trial at Italian Serie B side Bari. Training under the gaze of Italian World Cup winner Fabio Grosso, the 21-year-old will spend the week trying to impress after struggling for first-team action at Parkhead.