DESPITE no football being played, the rumour mill is in full flow and the Moussa Dembele to Manchester United rumour isn’t going away. The striker left Celtic for Lyon in the summer of 2018 and now after two years performing in France, looks set for a move to the Premier League.
The Manchester United site Stretty News is reporting that Dembele remains a target of United, despite Coronavirus’ effect on the transfer market. The fee that they have quoted comes in at a whopping £60m.
Lyon failed to qualify for the European spots, despite remaining in the 2019/20 Champions League, which means that should the fail to win the tournament, they may need to sell some of their star players.
Dembele, 23, has gained attention from top European sides such as Juventus, Chelsea and Manchester United. It is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side that are believed to be favourites to sign the Frenchman meaning that Celtic could benefit from a windfall should he be sold.
Celtic are believed to have a 15% sell-on fee for Dembele, which would rake in an astonishing £6m as it would be taken off of Lyon’s profit of the deal – which would be £40m.
A potential £6m windfall would be perfect for Celtic at the moment given the strain that COVID-19 has put on Scottish football. It also would allow the club to position themselves better when the inevitable interest for our star players come.
Kris Ajer, Callum McGregor and Odsonne Edouard will all be sought after in the summer but Celtic should hold firm owing to the strong financial position in the bank. If an offer comes in for Ajer, then Celtic can sell but only if it means reinvesting a sum of the money in the playing squad – e.g. buying Fraser Forster on a permanent basis.
