Celtic pundit Paul John Dykes has recently talked about the situation of the club’s youngster Karamoko Dembele.
Dykes was recently hosting the latest episode of the ‘A Celtic State of Mind’ podcast and the panel discussed multiple issues involving the Bhoys. One topic of discussion was Celtic’s youth development in recent years and this led to Dykes talking about Dembele. The pundit believes that the youngster has regressed at Parkhead.
Dembele is a product of the Celtic youth academy and he has already made four appearances for the club’s first-team at the age of 17. In the current campaign, the youngster has made just one Premiership appearance as he came on against Hamilton in the first game of the season (as per Transfermarkt).
Has Karamoko Dembele regressed?
Yes
No
Dykes believes that while Dembele was one of the best talents in the game at the age of 13, he has regressed a lot now.
He said (31:43): “I mean, Dembele’s regressed. At 13 years old, he was one of Europe’s finest talents, one of the brightest players on the planet. At 17, he can’t get on the bench for Celtic – a struggling Celtic who have no wide players. Now, that’s player regression and that’s youth development gone wrong.”
TIF Thoughts on Dykes’ comments about Dembele…
The Athletic recently reported that many people in the Celtic backroom staff have concerns about the development of Dembele. The report states that the club feels that the youngster hasn’t developed as much they would have liked physically and there are concerns about his application too.
The same report also claims that while Dembele was expected to be more involved in the club’s first-team this season, the concerns about his development have held the youngster back.
That is a clear reflection of the fact that Dembele has indeed regressed in some ways and Dykes is right to point it out.