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13-year-old Karamoko Dembele signs youth contract with Celtic

By Andrew Coppens

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 30: Karamoko Dembele of Scotland is seen prior to the Scotland v Northern Ireland match during the U16 Vicrory Shield Tournament at The Oriam at Heriot Watt University on October 30, 2016 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 30: Karamoko Dembele of Scotland is seen prior to the Scotland v Northern Ireland match during the U16 Vicrory Shield Tournament at The Oriam at Heriot Watt University on October 30, 2016 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images) /
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Celtic have found a fountain of youth lately, as younger players have begun to break in to and star for the first team. Names like Kiernan Tierney and Callum McGregor easily come to mind.

But, there is one player who has been tearing up youth football that should have fans excited for the future of the club once again. That is 13-year-old Karamoko Dembele.

His play at international youth tournaments over the past few years has attracted all sorts of attention. Big-named clubs south of the border and around Europe had been taking notice, but on Friday, Dembele pledged his future to Celtic by signing a youth registration contract with the club.

There’s certainly a wealth of talent to be tapped, all one needs to do is look at a highlight tape like this to understand that.

Dembele isn’t just a wünderkid either, Celtic’s youth system has treated him like a potential professional player for some time now. This season he made his debut with the Celtic U-20 side and it is likely he’ll continue to see more time up at that level as his body continues to fill out.

He also played at the international level this season, putting on the Scotland jersey for the U-16 side.

Clearly it is extraordinary for the club to put out a single press release over a 13-year-old, but Dembele is no ordinary 13-year-old either. The club knows the level of outside interest in his abilities and made it clear there is a plan in place to address that interest with this press release.

Head of Youth at Celtic,Chris McCart, had the following to say:

"“Clearly there has been considerable publicity surrounding Karamoko, but our focus will be solely on Karamoko’s needs as a young player and we will commit ourselves, as we do with all our players, to giving him the very best opportunity to flourish in football and all other aspects of life.”"

The club also hopes that Dembele will be allowed to grow without much of the spotlight that has built up over the past year or so. Putting him in the youth system will allow him to work away from the spotlight until game times to say the least.

“Like all young players, it is very important that Karamoko is given the time and space to reach his potential and we believe that our programme will provide such an environment,” McCart went on to say.

“He is still a very young player and he knows how difficult it is to reach the very top in football but we will give him everything he needs to achieve what he can in the game.

“It is important that undue pressure is not placed on any young player and having been at Celtic for some time, he and his family know that his welfare is our number one priority.”

In exchange, Celtic are hoping that a few more years of investment and growth turn up one of the most exciting attacking players the club has brought along in some time. I mean, what 12-year-old kid has a well-developed left and right footed arsenal?

Dembele has that, along with the touch, control and vision of players much older than him. The key is going to be managing all of that with the changes that are to come over adolescence. If his body develops like his game, the Hoops are in for a treat in the relatively near future.

Homegrown talent is a huge boon to Celtic on the pitch and on the balance sheet as well.

It is just another reminder of the gulf in structure, organization and attitude between the treble winners and the rest of Scottish football. Only time will tell if this move pays off for the first team, but all the signs of a great future are there for the player and the club.

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