According to latest reports, Serie A defending champions Juventus have now joined the race for Celtic’s attacking sensation Moussa Dembele. As the possibility of landing AS Monaco’s promising talent, Kylian Mbappe, becomes more and more unlikely for the Champions League semi-finalists, Juventus have now turned their sights to the next best young player in that position.
Serie A, quite like Scottish Premiership, doesn’t pose much of a threat to Juventus. And the Old Lady, much like Celtic, have had the tournament in their grip for the past five years now. They have won every possible silverware in Italy now and the only evading trophy of Champions League is clear in their sight now, this season.
A thumping win over Monaco on their home turf has pretty much sealed the fate for the Italian giants in this leg, where they are highly likely to face an unstoppable Real Madrid side in the final. Having the likes of Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic as his attacking options keep the little window for Dembele to play if he comes to Turin, and Juventus’ growing interest indicates that a big name is expected to depart this summer.
20-year-old Dembele has already garnered the reputation of an exceptional young talent with a number of high-profile clubs interested in trying to land him. And the non-competitive Scottish league has done little to test him too. He has scored a whopping 32 goals in all competitions, drawing applauds from critics all across Europe.
Former Liverpool boss, Brendan Rodgers, did a great job getting him from Fulham last summer and the French forward has played a significant role in their unbeaten domestic season so far. Celtic hold an astronomical 27-point lead at the top of Scottish League at the moment and are aiming to win the treble.
With Champions League as the only silverware they are yet to achieve, they too are gearing up with scrupulous preparations next season, but Rodgers hardly sees Dembele in his plans. While they did brilliantly to waive off interest in the player from Chelsea last January, retaining him in the summer would be a mammoth task.
Dembele showcased his goalscoring prowess in the elite Champions League this season too, where Celtic were thrown in the ‘group of death’ with the likes of Barcelona, Manchester City and Germain giants Borussia Monchengladbach. Dembele managed to score five times in 12 UCL games, which also includes the qualification ties.
His phenomenal pace on the ball, with exquisite finishing, makes him a priceless player to have on the side. An academy product of Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain, Dembele joined Fulham’s Under-18 squad in 2012 and was promoted to the first-team in 2014. His contract with Celtic runs till 2020, but we are dead sure he wouldn’t be there for long.
