You are here
Brendan Rodgers wants to keep Moussa Dembele at Celtic
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has insisted that the club have no desire to sell French striker Moussa Dembele despite the ongoing link with Marseille.
The Ligue 1 were said to have entered talks to sign the former Fulham man but Rodgers admits that there has been no such contact with Les Phoceens.
Dembele joined the Hoops from Fulham for a mere compensation fee of £500,000 last summer, and he has since established himself as one of the hottest properties in European football. While one can argue that the Scottish league is of a lower standard, Dembele still managed to rack 32 goals across all competitions for the Glasgow club, who celebrated a domestic treble last term.
Celtic take on Rosenborg in a Champions League qualifier at Celtic Park on Wednesday and Dembele was found sitting out on training as he was carrying an injury, as per Rodgers. The former Liverpool boss has not yet spoken to Dembele regarding his future, but he expects the striker to be focused on the job ahead with the club.
He said: "Moussa has been linked with 10 clubs. There's nothing in it from our perspective. There's no rush from Moussa. He loves being here. He knows he is in an incredible environment where he can learn and improve. To be a successful player, you have to have the mentality to keep going year in, year out. He doesn't change either way. There can be lots of speculation. He gets on with his work."
The France Under-21 international has three more years left on his Hoops contract and judging by Rodgers' comments, the player could remain at Celtic for at least one more season. Dembele has been knocking the door of the France senior squad for a while and his call up in May represents his progress since his switch from Craven Cottage.