BRENDAN RODGERS believes Moussa Dembele is the perfect example of the sort of young talent that can be attracted to Celtic.
The 20-year-old French striker has been a revelation since arriving at the Hoops for a bargain £500,000 development fee from Fulham in the summer – the Irishman’s first signing for the club.
Dembele has taken the opportunity to showcase his talent, quality and finishing prowess at Parkhead and he has made an immediate impact with 16 goals in 23 appearances, including three in the Champions League group stages, a hat-trick in the 5-1 win over Sevco Rangers and the Betfred League Cup semi-final winner against the same opposition.
And the fact that he has been able to use Celtic as his stage this season could pave the way for other to follow.
Rodgers said: “Moussa is a great catalyst if you are an agent now and I have had a number of conversations where people now see the example of Moussa.
“It really has lit up their eyes to what the possibilities are. Here is a guy – who was a talent, but was playing in the Championship in England and now he is one of the most coveted strikers – in Europe.
“And his platform is here in Scotland. He is a great advertisement for what we are trying to do and he is enjoying his time here. There is talent out there. It is the right ones at the right time.”
Asked if there were other Moussa Dembeles out there, Rodgers answered: “There is. That is the notion that I have in terms of looking at building a structure here that allows more of them to come to here.
“But for every Dembele, there are others who aren’t like that. Moussa was coveted by lots of teams in Europe, but chose to come here to develop further and learn the game and, hopefully, play at Champions League level.
“Some players will be happy playing relegation football, but earning more money. You can’t blame them because it’s a short career. But we always have to look to find a way and that’s what we’ll do.”
