Celtic journalist and podcaster Ryan McGinlay believes Karamoko Dembele should have been an option for the Bhoys in the Old Firm derby at the weekend.
Unfortunately for the Hoops, they were knocked out of the Scottish Cup by their fierce rivals on Sunday. They had taken the lead through Greg Taylor, but a strike from Scott Arfield and an own-goal from Carl Starfelt saw them bow out at the semi-final stage.
Dembele impressed during the Glasgow Cup semi-final on Tuesday despite his side’s defeat on penalties, and McGinlay believes he should have been an option for Ange Postecoglou at the weekend. He wrote on Twitter: “Karamoko should have been an option for us at Hampden on Sunday.”
TIF Thoughts on Dembele…
Dembele, who is valued at £225k (as per Transfermarkt), first attracted wider attention after appearing for Celtic’s U20 side at the age of 13. However, his rise has not continued to be stratospheric, and at the age of 19, he has only 10 first-team appearances to his name, scoring once.
As he showed against Rangers B on Tuesday, though, he has plenty of ability. He was involved in the build-up to the first goal in the 2-2 draw, while his assist provided the second following a brilliant run down the right flank.
Should Dembele have played vs Rangers?
Yes
No
Why he is not featured more regularly is unclear, but he surely still has plenty to offer Postecoglou. At 19 years of age, he is still young, but there will come a time when he is no longer just a talented youngster and must start playing regularly.