CELTIC last night sent out the clear message they will not sell Moussa Demeble this month by rejecting what would be a record £20m bid for the striker by English Premier League club West Ham United.

It is believed this offer, which could be increased during the January transfer window, falls well short of what the Parkhead club would even consider for the 20-year-old Frenchman.

But even if West Ham came back with a fee closer to £30m, Celtic and their manager Brendan Rodgers remain insistent this season's revelation is staying in Scotland at least until the summer and perhaps even beyond.

A blogger on the West Ham website yesterday confirmed that the London outfit were in the hunt for Celtic's most coveted asset.

"I am told the Club’s ambitions are to finish in the top ten as a minimum," they said. "My understanding is that the Board are committed to giving the Club the best-possible chance of achieving that target, and have allocated significant funds to bolstering the squad. To that end, a bid of £20m – a figure close to the Club’s all-time transfer record – was submitted for a player from Scotland."

Assurances have been made the Rodgers that while it is understood Dembele will leave at some stage, there is no need to sell him or any player until it suited Celtic, which is a far cry from not so long ago when such a huge bid would have been accepted without hesitation.

Another factor is that both Rodgers and Dembele himself believe that when the inevitable transfer happens then it will be to one of Europe's top clubs. West Ham, even with their new home at the old Olympic Stadium, cannot be consider anything like that.

When Dembele does go it could well be for more than £30m, which will prove a staggering piece of business, one of the best by any British club, given he cost just £500,000 in the summer when he moved from Fulham.

Celtic are expected to tie up the transfer of Kouassi Eboue within days even if the club are prepared for a slight delay in the Ivory Coast international’s work permit being granted.

The 19-year-old is believed to have agreed terms with the Scottish champions who are prepared to pay £2.8m to Russian club Krasnodar for him but there is could still be a bit of red tape to get through before the deal is finalised.

Eboue has not played more than 75 per cent of his country’s international matches over the past two years, which means UK law could well rule him ineligible to work in Scottish football. His wage could also be a factor.

However, such matters rarely halt a transfer going through and the midfielder should be given the go-ahead to continue his career in the Scottish Premiership.

Celtic were last night also heavily linked with Lens defender Jean-Kevin Duverne, a 19-year-old who is seen as one of France’s brightest football talents, which draws obvious parallels with Moussa Dembele.

And while Rodgers is in no hurry to sell Nir Bitton, the Israeli may be a subject of a second offer from Espanyol who last summer made some advances for the player.

However, Eboue is almost a done deal, he was spotted wandering around Glasgow yesterday, and his story is a remarkable one.

I was born in Ivory Coast, in Akakro, a small village not far from the city of Dabou,” he revealed in a recent interview. ““I began to practise football when I was about five years old. The financial situation of our family was quite difficult at that time, but I thank my mother, who nonetheless found the money to buy sports kits and shoes.

“At the beginning I went to training at an ordinary school and, when I turned 10 years old, I was invited to a football academy. I began to train there and still studied at an ordinary school.”

“When I was around 15-and-a-half the scouts noticed me; one of them proposed a move to Shirak FC in Armenia.”

“My parents were initially against the move, since I was still a really young boy. My agent and coach, though, both spoke with them and were able to convince them that I would have a better chance of becoming a professional footballer. Eventually, they got the approval of my parents and, in November 2013, I first moved to Armenia. I remember that it was very cold then and I realised what genuine coldness was.”

Eboue was only 16 when he made the move and it wasn’t longer before Krasnodar became aware of his abilities.

At first I came to Shirak for assessment, and I only signed a contract in February 2014. Because I had not yet turned 18, it was a youth contract and I did not have the right to play for a professional team, although I trained alongside them. In May of that year, my agent phoned me again and offered the chance to go for an assessment in Russia, at the academy of Krasnodar.

I understood that it would be a big step forward in my career. I arrived in Krasnodar, staying there for a month, and successfully passed the test.

Eboue is known as a more defence midfielder but revealed: “I am ready to play where the coach puts me but, playing higher, joining the attacks more frequently, I feel like I am progressing, growing.”