ANGE Postecoglou tonight described Karamoko Dembele as “hugely talented” and predicted the wonderkid is capable of establishing himself a Celtic first team regular in the coming season.
The 18-year-old winger opened the scoring for the Parkhead club in their 2-1 win over Charlton Athletic in a pre-season friendly at Dragon Park in Newport in Wales this afternoon.
Dembele has been tipped for great things since turning out for the Glasgow outfit’s under-20 side aged just 13 back in 2016.
Former Australia coach Postecoglou has been impressed with the youngster since arriving in Scotland last week and is confident he can challenge for a regular start.
“He is obviously a hugely talented boy,” he said. “He has been here for a while and I guess he gets an opportunity now.
“I think the way we play will suit him. He was positive today, not just with the ball, he also worked hard without the ball. Yeah, I thought he did well.
“I never worry too much about age, at either end of the spectrum. It is more about can they do what we want them to do.
“He has been in and around the first team squad for a little while now. I think he wants to break through and be a first team player so I see no reason why anybody needs to protect him from that.”
Albian Ajeti, the Swiss striker who struggled to justify the £5m transfer fee that Celtic paid West Ham for him last season, netted the Parkhead club’s second goal against Charlton.
Postecoglou, whose team play their opening Champions League qualifier against Midtjylland of Denmark in Glasgow on Tuesday week, was delighted to see the forward, who was also on target in the 3-1 triumph over Sheffield Wednesday in Gwent on Wednesday, get on the scoresheet again.
“It’s always good to see your strikers score goals,” he said. “Albi has been working hard, not just at scoring his goals, but also defensively and being a leader for us. It’s pleasing for him, a couple of games and a couple of goals.”
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