Celtic News

Former Celtic captain warns not to get too excited by Hoops prospect

|

Former Celtic captain Jackie McNamara feels Hoops prospect Karamoko Dembele could struggle to make an impact at Celtic due to his size, as reported by website Football Insider.

Dembele has long been touted as a future Hoops first-teamer, with video highlights of his exploits at youth and Reserve level often making an impact on social media sites.

Also included in England’s youth set-up, hopes are high he can go on to become an elite player in the game.

McNamara recognises he has ability but is concerned about his lack of growth and thinks he could be too small to reach that kind of level.

As quoted by Football Insider, the former Celtic Park defender said:

Dembele looks a talent, left foot and everything else and he’s been like a little man, if you like, at a young age.

All the clubs are looking at him. I know other clubs mostly, Man City are like, ‘phwoar’ at 12, 13, 14 but now they’re like ‘nah, don’t think he’s going to do it’.

He’s little, but he’s been that for a few years now, he’s been that same size when they were all younger so he was like a wee man but nowadays they’re bigger than him and he’s not moved.

Don’t get me wrong, the player’s there but because he was a wee man at that age (13), he’s the exact same as he was roughly then – strong, powerful left foot, low centre of gravity, but there comes a time – my son’s 15 next month, at that age I was smaller, I’m not a big guy but I was tiny, small, skinny and I got released.

Celtic certainly remain confident he can become a regular in the senior side, tying him down to his first professional contract last December until the summer of 2021.

Neil Lennon is also a noted admirer of his talents and has hinted he could make his debut before the end of the season.

It’s true that Dembele is notably smaller even than his current peers, but his ability on the ball is unquestioned and that will hopefully be enough for him to make the impact we expected from him in the first-team.

Do you think Karamoko Dembele will ‘make it’ at Celtic? Have your say in the comments below…

Share this article

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *