Moussa Dembele set to hand Celtic major financial boost

Chelsea is looking to sign former-Celtic star Moussa Dembele from French-side Lyon, and the Hoops could be in for a huge payday.

Chelsea and their manager Frank Lampard are desperate for extra firepower in a competitive English Premier League. Chelsea did not see themselves as a club that could be sitting fourth in the English Premier League table after being excluded from making transfers and having a rookie manager. Now, Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has former Celtic superstar Moussa Dembele on his radar, and the union seems close to fruition for the two sides.

Moussa Dembele played for Celtic in parts of the 2017 and 2018 seasons and was eventually sent to French-side Lyon  for £19.8m. However, there was a sell-on clause that would include more than 10% of the fee Lyon would receive from whichever club they sold Moussa Dembele to.

According to the Daily Star, Chelsea has already offered £35 million for Moussa Dembele which has been rejected. The Blues usually get their man, and it would not be unreasonable to think Chelsea would be willing to go higher for the striker.

However, Daily Star has also reported that Lyon has released a statement saying they are intent on not moving Moussa Dembele:

"“Olympique Lyonnais has taken note of certain information relayed by the media suggesting that Moussa Dembele could interest other clubs during this transfer window.“We would like to reaffirm its wish, as in the summer of 2019, to keep Moussa Dembele.”"

Almost every club has to say this, unless they want to see their offers for players nose dive. The Hoops are set to make over 10% of the transfer fee for Moussa Dembele, which could go as high as £4 million.

The Hoops will need to reinvest that cash into some real quality players that can immediately come into the first team and make a difference.