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McGregor: Dembele impressed me

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Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor has lavished praise on Hoops youngster Karamoko Dembele following his debut for the club in Sunday’s defeat of Hearts.

The 16-year-old was brought on as a replacement for Oliver Burke at half-time and impressed in his first 45 minutes with good passing and a shot that went just wide of the post.

Speaking to the Glasgow Evening Times, McGregor said that while his teammate played with confidence and maturity in the weekend’s 2-1 victory, Celtic must handle Dembele’s development in the right way.

“It’s important we manage him (Dembele) properly and everyone doesn’t get carried away and expect him to be in the team every week,” the Scotland international said.

“He’s still a young kid and he’s got to learn and grow and it’s our job as senior players and a club to look after him and mentor him to get the best out of him.

“At such a young age, to come on and play with the maturity he did against Hearts was great. You can see his football brain working before the ball even comes to him.

“He certainly seems like nothing fazes him. You could see that as soon as he came into first team training. The first time I watched him was when the video clips were going about social media of him in youth tournaments and he looked like a world beater at that age.”

OPINION

If Dembele’s first 45 minutes for Celtic are anything to go by, the future certainly looks bright for the 16-year-old. As McGregor points out, the youngster looked sharp and ready to take to the field on Sunday, and was not affected in the slightest by playing both alongside and against players with much more experience than himself. He fitted right in and looked like a ready-made Celtic player. However, at that age, Celtic must be wary and reign their excitement in. Dembele is only 16 and has a lot of football ahead of him, meaning his development and skills must be nurtured in the right way. He won’t get a look-in for Saturday’s Scottish Cup final against Hearts, but there is every chance that whoever will be the Celtic boss next season may think about giving Dembele some minutes during pre-season. He’s definitely earned it after his performance, and it is the least he deserves.

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