MX23RW : Friday, November 8 13:51:18| >> :60:1587:1587:

Celtic reject formal offer for French striker Moussa Dembele

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers insists that Moussa Dembele remains "fully committed" to the club, having been made the subject of a formal transfer offer.

Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that Celtic have knocked back an official bid for Moussa Dembele and intend to keep the striker at the club.

The 21-year-old, under contract at Celtic Park until the summer of 2020, is reportedly on the radar of Premier League pair Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace.

Rodgers admitted last week that Dembele's form has been disrupted by the growing speculation, but the Hoops boss has stressed that the Frenchman remains "fully committed" to Celtic regardless of interest from elsewhere.

"Moussa has never once asked to leave Celtic," he told reporters at his weekly press conference. "We brought him here as a talented young player at 19 and he has shown that talent. He has come in with a plan: his agent, himself and I know what the plan was but he has never asked once to leave. He is fully committed to Celtic.

"We have had one official bid for him that is nowhere near the value of what the value of Moussa is. But equal to that we have no interest in selling him. He is not a player for sale, he has two and half years left on his contract. He is an extremely talented young player. Naturally, we said a few weeks ago about a little bit of focus but it's only natural.

"But he has trained, he is working well, is working hard and he is available. That's as clear as I can be. In defence of the player, because it is important for supporters to understand, this is a boy that is fully committed to Celtic. He has been linked with so many teams so naturally the mind can wander but he is a great boy.

"He won't be like what you see in some clubs and what you have witnessed before, where players down tools. It is not the case at all. He is a really good boy who we want to keep here and the only thing that would ever take him away is if he didn't want to be here and if that is the case then someone would have to meet his value and at this moment at time, neither is the case."

Dembele, with eight goals to his name this campaign, has been an unused substitute in Celtic's last two games.

ID:317088: cacheID:317088:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3374:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
A very alarmed Moussa Dembele in action for Celtic in September 2016
Read Next:
Rodgers: 'Dembele affected by speculation'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Bengals
34-35
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic109102932628
2Aberdeen109102091128
3RangersRangers10613158719
4Dundee UnitedDundee Utd114431513216
5Motherwell105141313016
6Dundee113351720-312
7St Mirren123361521-612
8Kilmarnock113351523-812
9Ross County122641018-812
10St Johnstone123181525-1010
11Hearts122371419-59
12Hibernian111551016-68


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!