NEW Celtic signing Moussa Dembele believes he can become the best striker in the world under the tutelage of Brendan Rodgers, and have a similar impact to Henrik Larsson at Celtic Park.

The France under-20 internationalist wasted no time in outlining his lofty personal ambitions and those he harbours for the club as a whole.

“I want to become one of the best strikers, or the best striker in the world," Dembele said. "I think that is possible and working with someone like Brendan Rodgers will help me a lot. The key is to work hard.

“Celtic is a massive club and I see my future here. Hopefully I can score as many goals as I can for the club, and become like Henrik Larsson.

“As a young player you want to improve and be the best you can. Brendan did really well with players like [Raheem] Sterling and [Daniel] Sturridge and hopefully we can work together so that he can do the same with me.

“I want to be in the first team from the day I sign and hopefully I can play as many games as I can and score as many goals as I can. I want to bring success and win lots of trophies for the club.”

The cocksure self-belief the 19-year-old Frenchman possesses is borne from an impressive pedigree, rather than just bravado.

Coming through the ranks at Paris Saint-Germain, Dembele learned his trade alongside such luminaries as Bayern Munich player Kingsley Coman, and his status as one of Europe’s most promising talents was affirmed by his former club attempting to woo him back from Fulham before he spurned their advances. Tottenham Hotspur were another big club in for the striker, but he opted to sign for Celtic who he classes as a bigger club than Spurs.

Dembele's first ambition for Celtic is to mix it with the Parisian giants and the North London club in the Champions League group stage, where he believes PSG could come to regret their decision to let him go in the first place.

“I had contact with PSG,” Dembele said. “I looked at all the options, there were many clubs in Europe [that were interested], but Celtic was the first option.

“In January, it was between the clubs [Fulham and Tottenham] to get an agreement and they didn’t. Thankfully for me, now that I’m a Celtic player.

“At the time, it was disappointing because you don’t know what is going to happen in the future. Now, though, I have to say thanks because this is a better opportunity for me.

“First, Celtic is a bigger club in Europe than Tottenham, then second, I will improve my chances to play. As a young boy you always want to play in a stadium full of fans like this.

“I chose Glasgow because it is a city of football. For me as a young guy, I want competition and it’s good for me to come to an environment where I will improve. The fans, the stadium, the club, Brendan Rodgers. Put them together and I will become a better player here in Glasgow than other cities.

“Passion is a big thing for me. As a player you want passion from your fans and everyone around. It is a massive thing for me.

“We have a very strong squad and we just need to believe in ourselves. I am ready to play in the [Champions League] group stages if the manager needs me – and we’ll make it.

“As a young kid, I would watch the games in the Parc des Princes, but I never played in the stadium. It would be a good thing for me [to go back in the Champions League] and, hopefully, I could score and we could win.”

Celtic supporters may be excited with the prospect of a frontline consisting of an electrifying young talent like Dembele and Leigh Griffiths, who bagged 40 goals for the club last season.

Dembele, too, is rather upbeat about it. “I know [Leigh] is a goalscorer first and foremost, and last year he worked hard for the team and he scored a lot of goals," Dembele said. "Hopefully I can join him and score just as many goals as he did and make the team successful.

“I think we can have a good partnership. When I get to Slovenia we’ll have to get to know one another, and by the time I get back hopefully we will know a lot more about each other.

“I watched the games of last season on TV and I know [Celtic] like to play football and move the ball quickly. That’s my style of play, so I’m sure I will suit the team well.”