Chris Sutton has warned Celtic not to sell their current star Moussa Dembele on the cheap as they saw former player Virgil van Dijk agree a move to Liverpool on Wednesday for a reported £75million transfer fee.
The Daily Mail report that Brighton are currently lining up an £18million bid for Bhoys centre-forward Dembele ahead of the January window.
However, pundit Sutton insists that the Scottish club must resist any approaches after reported wide speared interest and keep the highly-rated 21-year-old at Parkehad.
He pointed to the fact that Liverpool confirmed the signing of Van Dijk on Wednesday afternoom, who previously left Celtic for £12million to join Southampton.
Sky Sports report that a world-record £75million fee for a defender has been agreed for the Saints centre-back to join Liverpool on 1 January when the transfer window re-opens.
Sutton warned Celtic that they must lead the way for Scottish clubs by not selling their prized assets on the cheap.
“Virgil van Dijk at £75million ore evidence why Celtic shouldn’t sell Dembele on the cheap. £12million to Southampton a snip at the time! It’s about time the Scottish game stops selling their best players on the cheap,” he wrote on his personal Twitter account.
.@btsportfootball Virgil van Dijk at 75 million more evidence why Celtic shouldn’t sell Dembele on the cheap… 12 million to Southampton a snip at the time! It’s about time the Scottish game stops selling their best players on the cheap!!!!
— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) December 27, 2017
OPINION
Sutton believes that Celtic must make sure they get value for money if they decide to sell star centre-forward Dembele and he is certainly a player that should return at least £20million given today’s transfer market. Van Dijk has gone on to be worth a colossal £75million after his performances in the Premier League and it would have been impossible for Celtic to recoup that sort of money for him, even if he had turned in faultless displays in the Scottish league. The power spending now that the Premier League sides are showing makes it very difficult for teams from other leagues to resist, which is why an £18million bid for Dembele is a real threat.