MOUSSA Dembele will smash the Scottish record transfer fee when he departs Celtic, according to his manager Brendan Rodgers.
Manchester United are the latest leading European club to be linked with Dembele after the striker scored twice for the France Under-21 side in their 3-2 win over England in a friendly international in Bondoufle on Monday night.
United are reported to be preparing to table a bid for the former Paris Saint-Germain youth player, who has scored 16 goals in all competitions so far in the 2016/17 campaign, in the January transfer window.
Rodgers, whose team will take on Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in the Ladbrokes Premiership this evening, would like to keep the 20-year-old, who cost just £500,000 from Fulham in the summer, for at least two years.
Read more: Ally McCoist: Moussa Dembele's form for Celtic does now show Joe Garner in a great light
However, the Irishman believes the Scottish champions will get far more than the £12.5 million they received for Victor Wanyama when the Nigerian midfielder joined Southampton back in 2013 when the centre forward does leave.
“The price tag will be whatever it is, “ he said. “It is not for me to speculate about that. But the kid is clearly one of the great potential strikers in the world. If he leaves here at whatever point that will be it will be for a record transfer fee there is no question about that.
“I have worked with players who have gone for a lot of money. Raheem Sterling went for £49 million and he was a winger. Luis Suarez went for the money that he went for (£65 million). So this kiddie has the potential in value. Celtic won’t have to worry about players going for £10 million any more.”
Read more: Ally McCoist: Moussa Dembele's form for Celtic does now show Joe Garner in a great light
Celtic have sold Fraser Forster, Virgil van Dijk and Wanyama to mid-table English Premier League club Southampton for a combined total well in excess of £30 million in the last three years.
However, the leading clubs down south, the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, United and Spurs, have ignored the Glasgow club’s best players due to the inferior standard of domestic football in this country.
But Rodgers, who managed Liverpool for three years before he joined Celtic, believes that top clubs in England and abroad will be prepared to take a chance on Dembele, who has scored five times in the Champions League this term, because of his age and has predicted that Celtic will make a huge profit when they do.
“It’s about the potential with Moussa,” he said. “Look at Wanyama. People were unsure about him even though he was a really good player when he was here. He goes to Southampton, a mid-table Premier League team, then he jumps to Tottenham. They don’t need that springboard anymore.
Read more: Ally McCoist: Moussa Dembele's form for Celtic does now show Joe Garner in a great light
“With all due respect, I’ve worked with big players, I know the value of big players, I know the value of young players. We might not have the Premier League propaganda and the money that goes with that, but he’s still a top player. If he leaves here, he can go to the big level. So there’s a value and a market for that.
“They’re a premium at those clubs as well. I sensed it when I was at Liverpool. Trying to get a player that might be worth £10 million somewhere else becomes £20 million when you’re at that type of club.”
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