Celtic all-time great Tom Boyd has urged Moussa Dembele to stick with the Glasgow giants despite increasing interest from Europe’s elite clubs.
Boyd’s comments come after Sky Sports Italy correspondent Gianluca Di Marzio claimed on his personal website that AC Milan have made contact with the Hoops over a move for the 20-year-old striker.
Meanwhile the Daily Record reported Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea were interested in the £30million-rated star.
Boyd was a part of three Scottish Premiership winning sides during his time with Celtic, as well as winning two Scottish Cups.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, he urged Dembele to stay at Parkhead for the forseeable future, saying: “I think Moussa will go – but hopefully not in the near future.
“He should stay here for at least another few years. He has got everything here that he needs. The fans sing about him here – what songs are they going to sing about him in Milan?
“He is only a young boy and it might be that he still needs a bit of experience to fit in at a club like Milan. Would he be sitting on the bench there? I don’t know.
“But he is playing regularly at Celtic and he has good competition with Leigh Griffiths – a player who scored 40 goals the season before.
“I think that competition helped Moussa and I would rather he remained here in the right environment to develop under Brendan Rodgers.”
Dembele was in superb form last term as his side won a historic domestic treble, scoring 32 goals in 49 league and cup games, as well as providing nine assists.
He only arrived at Parkhead last summer, moving on a free from Fulham, but he has already become a crucial part of the side, and has made the striker’s spot his own despite competition from Leigh Griffiths.
The 20-year-old has been capped by France Under-21s on four occasions, scoring four goals, two of which came in a 3-2 friendly win over England in November 2016.
Hoops manager Brendan Rodgers will pray he can hold onto Dembele this summer as he looks to win the Glasgow giants their seventh straight league title next term.