Celtic were thrown a curveball on Wednesday, the day before their Europa League play-off against Suduva, with the news that Moussa Dembele missed training to hold talks over a possible exit from the club.
As the BBC reported, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas said that his side had been talking to the player and that he was “interested” in joining.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers confirmed the interest saying, “Moussa is not a player we want to lose. He’s a phenomenal talent but he’s not going to be here forever. Like a lot of the European boys, they develop at a great club and look to move on.”
BT Sport pundit and Celtic fan Chris Sutton took to Twitter on hearing these developments and had a simple message for Rodgers.
He said, if you don’t want to lose Dembele, “Don’t let him go”.
Brendan says “we don’t want Moussa to leave” …. don’t let him go then…
— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) August 29, 2018
OPINION
This has developed quickly from the first report that Dembele had missed training. With just over 48 hours to go before the transfer window shuts, Celtic fans must have thought they were holding onto their player for at least another six months. Yes, there had been reports of interest, but nothing firm. There’s always drama before the end of the transfer window though and this could be one of the most significant late moves. Sutton is correct in what he says. Celtic could shut down interest and tell Dembele he’s going nowhere. With just 48 hours left to sell him and/or find a replacement, they’d be perfectly within their rights and Dembele wouldn’t have time to agitate for a move. However, there are two things to consider. The first is the timing. Celtic have a huge match tomorrow night. They were dumped out of the Champions League after Dedryck Boyata refused to play and the last thing they want is another controversy with a player. However, that’s sort of by the by. More importantly is how Rodgers feels about it and how Peter Lawwell and the Celtic supremos feel. Rodgers is a manager, he’ll want Dembele to stay. But he’s also a realist and he knows the price the club will be willing to let him go at. Lyon could well be at that price point already and if they are there’s probably not a lot Rodgers can do. Every player has his price. Every club has a time when they would like to conduct business by as well and this as far from perfect for Celtic as you can get. The next 48 hours will give a much clearer idea of Celtic’s long-term strategy and the result tomorrow and Sunday could really define their season. It’s drama but perhaps not the sort Celtic fans would have wanted.