Moussa Dembele looks set to seal a move to Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid with the French striker flying out to Spain to confirm the deal. The former Celtic striker will sign on a loan deal with an option to buy for the La Liga side. This means that there may be a knock-on affect for when Celtic receive their sell-on fee.
The 24-year-old moved to Lyon in 2018 and has been a success but since the French side have failed to qualify for Europe this season, Dembele was linked with a number of clubs. However, no move was forthcoming for the player that tormented Manchester City in the Champions League Quarter Finals and as a result, the Madrid club faced tough opposition to sign the striker.
Celtic are believed to have a 10% sell-on fee for Dembele, which would rake in a multi-million windfall as it would be taken off of Lyon’s profit of the deal. Atletico are looking for a new striker with Diego Costa being released this month. Hopefully the deal that is agreed, maximising the value of Dembele to both Lyon and Celtic – pushing his value to the Scottish Champions up beyond the £20m.
In the 9IAR celebrations earlier this year, Dembele called Celtic ‘the greatest club in the world’. Dembele was a fan favourite instantly with a hat-trick against Rangers at Celtic Park. He scored 51 goals in 94 appearances across the two seasons, winning six trophies during his trophy-laden spell in Glasgow.