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£30m deal paves way for another Celtic exit this summer

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Moussa Dembele appears to be on the verge of a Celtic exit after a dramatic day of transfer speculation involving the Frenchman.

We discussed on Wednesday morning the fact that Dembele missed a team meeting and first-team training at Lennoxtown amidst speculation he could be set for a move to Ligue 1 to join up with Lyon or Marseille.

Brendan Rodgers later confirmed that the reason for his absence was to discuss his Celtic future with club chiefs and his agents, admitting that he had yet to determine whether the French striker would be available for tomorrow night’s clash against Suduva.

Later still, quotes emerged from Lyon president Jean-Michael Aulas confirming that the French giants were interested in his signature, even suggesting that the player himself was open to the move.

Then, to make matters worse for Celtic fans, Lyon confirmed in the early evening that they had agreed a fee with Real Madrid to sell star striker Mariano for a fee of around £30m.

That deal would appear to pave the way for Lyon to make their move over the next couple of days, with many fans now expecting Dembele’s imminent departure.

Everyone’s known since he arrived that one day he would be leaving Glasgow, but the suddenness of the potential deal appears to have taken us all by surprise, including the club.

We’ll see how it all pans out on Thursday and into Friday and hopefully if the club do sell then we can sign a third-choice striker of some repute to compete with Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths.

Dembele’s exit would mean that he follows Stuart Armstrong, Erik Sviatchenko and Patrick Roberts out the door this summer, and with no defensive signings on the horizon either, there’s a lot of work to be down by Peter Lawwell and his transfer team before Friday’s deadline.

Can Odsonne Edouard step into Moussa Dembele’s boots at Celtic? Have your say in the comments below…

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