West Ham United and Everton want to sign Celtic flop

It is not easy for youngsters to succeed at Celtic. With managers under pressure to win almost every match they take part in, it becomes difficult for them to give regular chances to youth standouts. As a result, it should come as no surprise that it has been years since a player came through the ranks at Parkhead and became a starter in the senior team.

The last one to do so was Kieran Tierney and it has been almost half-a-decade since he left. The only regular starter in the current team who is a Celtic academy graduate is Callum McGregor.

One of the most highly-rated youngsters that Celtic have had in recent memory was Karamoko Dembele. He had drawn comparisons to Lionel Messi at one point in time. But unfortunately, it did not work out for him at Parkhead.

After managing only a handful of appearances for Celtic and a solitary goal, Dembele left the club as a free agen to join Brest in the summer of 2022. Things did not quite work out for him in his first season in France either but now he is shining on loan at Blackpool.

West Ham United and Everton want to sign Celtic flop

Dembele finally seems to have found his feet at the senior level on loan at Blackpool. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has scored 7 goals and provided 12 assists in 40 appearances for them so far.

That kind of form has caught the attention of teams in the Premier League and those hoping to earn promotion to the English top flight. As reported by HITC, Everton, Nottingham Forest and West Ham United are just three of the clubs looking to sign Dembele this summer. Leicester City, Southampton and Leeds United are also interested.

While easy to forget, Dembele is still just 21 years of age. This could be the start of a long and successful career for him. Should he have been handed more opportunities during his time at Celtic?