It looks like it’s been a pretty busy week for Karamoko Dembele. First he came out to pledge his international allegiance to England , now it looks like he might be stepping up his efforts to get back into the Celtic team.
It’s so easy to forget he’s only 16 when you consider how long he’s been spoken about as a potential star for the first team. Then you see pictures of him next to fully grown men and it’s staggering how little he actually is:
Dembele in training with Jullien
It seems to be the case now where footballers announce their return to first team training with an Instagram post. We saw the same with Kieran Tierney recently and this shows the wonder-kid next to Christopher Jullien in training.
It does seem unlikely that he would be involved today for the Ross County visit, but he can’t be far way from a return to the first team. With a combination of Europa League and the Betfred Cup game coming up in the next few weeks there will be plenty of chances for him to get some game time.
Realistically he’s not going to force Forrest or Christie out of the team just now, so appearances for from the bench or as a rotation option make the most sense for the rest of the season.
His long term development could be a tough one to handle. He needs first team football to improve but it’s difficult to see a loan move to another Scottish team being a good move. Imagine him being stuck on the wing for someone like St Mirren or Kilmarnock – he would need to play in a similar system that let’s him get on the ball.
Then again, he is just a kid so there’s plenty of time for him to get into the team and develop into a regular option for the manager.