No player has come in to Celtic and made a more dramatic and immediate impact than one Moussa Dembele. Since his arrival this summer the 21-year-0ld French international has been utterly superb.
That’s why clubs from England have come-a-calling.
First it was a rumor of a move for Dembele by West Ham United, who wanted to give a club-record £20 million transfer fee. That was heading in to the January transfer window and Celtic told the Hammers to get lost.
As the January transfer window winds down it appears the rumor mill is working overtime, with a French paper now claiming Chelsea are in for Dembele with a £34 million offer.
That would certainly crush Celtic’s previous best transfer fee received — some £12.5 million for Victor Wanyama from Southampton.
But, is that the right price and is this the right time to make this type of move?
Dembele has been Celtic’s best goal-scoring option on the season. He’s netted 17 goals in 31 appearances in all competitions for the Hoops this season. Just nine of those 17 goals have come in league play though, as he is second to Scott Sinclair in Scottish Premiership goals.
Ultimately, this is a question of where the market it. Will a £40 million move be in the offing this summer? Has Dembele hit the peak of his performances for Celtic and thus the height of his value on the transfer market?
If the answers are no to question one and yes to question two, then you have to sell. If they are no and no, it would be wise to keep him around for the rest of the season.
As for the actual answer to the first question, one only needs to look at his current form to suggest that no club is going to fork over that kind of money right now. While Dembele hit the ground in fine form for the Bhoys, his recent form has been erratic at best.
Of his nine league goals, only two of them have come since an October 26th meeting with Ross County and he’s only hit five of his 13 overall goals in the last three months. Should Dembele slump further does anyone really think he’d be a £40 million player?
Part of the reason he has become such a hyped player has been the promise he presents, but he’ll also need to show he can be a consistent player if he wants to make an impact at a club like Chelsea or any big one in England or around the rest of Europe.
Right now he’s still got cache from his earlier form, but a continued dip only hurts his value to the club instead of increasing it. So, perhaps it wise to cash in now if the club truly believes they aren’t going to get more out of him in terms of the transfer market this summer.
Let’s just say the final day of the transfer window is going to be really interesting at Paradise, as it appears Chelsea may be playing a bit of Godfather on Celtic as the transfer window winds down.