Peterborough Town’s Barry Fry has confirmed that the Celtic-linked midfielder Siriki Dembele will be sold in the summer if he continues to reject fresh terms from the recently promoted side. The 24-year-old has impressed this season, becoming a mainstay in Darren Ferguson’s side but has already indicated his desire to leave the club, handing a transfer request into the club back in January.
Dembele is the brother of Celtic youth prospect Karamoko Dembele and has been linked with the Scottish Champions as well as Glasgow rivals Rangers. The attacking midfielder, who can also play as a winger, earned a place in the EFL League One Team of the Year as Peterborough earned automatic promotion to the Championship.
Yet Fry told This is Futbol that Posh will sell the player if he doesn’t sign a new deal and given the club’s policy relating to players in their final year, they will sell the player on as not to risk losing him on a free transfer.
“He’s got a year left on his contract and we’ve made him what we consider to be a lucrative offer but there has been a lot of interest in him, and I don’t think he’ll sign a new contract with us.
“The club’s policy is if you’re in the last year of your contract, and the club offers a contract and you refuse it, we put you on the transfer list. We’ve had bids worth millions for Dembele and rejected them.”
Dembele, who started his career with Dundee United, joined Posh in June 2018 and has scored 11 goals and notched up 12 assists for the London Road outfit this season. This impressive form has garnered the interest of a number of teams, including Celtic.
A move for the player could be prudent, given the opportunity to get him on a relatively cheap deal. The need for the recruitment to be spot on is crucial this coming season given the failings in the 2020/21 campaign. Although, unless a new manager and DOF are announced shortly, players will begin to move and Celtic could be behind in the hunt for new stars.
