Celtic have announced the signing of 15-year-old prodigy Karomoko Dembele. The young winger cum midfielder signed his first professional contract and is now set to stay at Park Head until 2021. Dembele gained prominence when he broke into the Celtic’s u-20 squad when he was just 13. It seems like the starlet has continued with his development further now that he has signed his first professional contract at the age of 15.
Karamako joined as a 10-year-old at Celtic, and it’s not often one sees a player signing a full-time professional contract at 15. What sets him apart is his pace and dribbling skills, and one can really see him rip through defences in a few years time.
To top it all, he has a vicious left foot and is often on set-piece duties for his youth team. The youth star definitely has the potential to be the next big thing in Glasgow and the next few years could be crucial for his development.
The youngster has played for England and Scotland at youth level, and he is also eligible to play for Ivory Coast as well. For now, he has set his sights on playing for the senior Celtic team as soon as possible and after signing the first contract he was quoted as saying (BBC),”It means a lot to me to start my professional career at Celtic. I came here at a young age and, after all the stuff me and family have been through together, it’ll be good to make them proud.”
”My goal is to play for the first team. As soon as I can, I’m going to try to get into the first team, 100%. In the reserves, every training session, every game – it’s all to prove myself to the manager that I can play in the first team.”
Signing the first contract is just the first step, and Karomoks’s real challenge would begin now. At the moment the Hoops have a decent amount of option in the winger’s position and currently, the right wing spot is occupied by James Forrest who can be termed as one of the best players in the current team.
We don’t expect Karomoko to break into the Celtic lineup soon but he can always be fast-tracked to the senior team if he impresses Rodgers in training. Keeping a steady supply of young players coming in helps the squad in the long run and Karomoko’s signing might go under the radar at the moment but in few years time, he can really thrive in the Scottish League given his immense talent.
