Moussa Dembele continues to shine in Scotland’s top flight, and now Celtic must fend out potential suitors if they want to keep the bright attacker.
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West Ham has reportedly placed a bid of $24 million to Celtic for Dembele’s services, however, assistant manager Chris Davies insists the club does not want to sell the 20-year-old.
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“That figure is definitely well below the valuation, that’s for sure,” Davies said of the transfer speculation. “I think the manager [Brendan Rodgers] spoke pretty clearly on that situation previously. There has been no formal bid or anything like that so it is speculation.
“From us, we know this is the best place for Moussa to develop. He is still 20 years old and has development left in him.
Dembele has burst onto the scene in Scotland since joining from Fulham over the summer. The striker has scored 19 goals in 36 appearances for the club across all competitions while also rising through the ranks of the France youth national team system.
The French youngster brought wide attention to himself last season in England when Dembele notched 15 goals in the English Championship for Fulham.
“He has had a fantastic first six months, he has absolutely loved it and there is so much more to come from us as a team and from Moussa at Celtic,” Davies continued. “That is what we are concentrating on.
“When you are doing well, especially when you are a striker, there is going to be big money and talk thrown around a lot – especially in transfer windows.
“We cannot control that and we have just got to concentrate on trying to help him develop as a player and focus on the next game.”
