Those at Celtic may well be looking on with regret at former striker Moussa Dembele as he has proven to be one of Europe’s top players over the past month.
That is, at least, according to the CIES Football Observatory player rankings, which rates footballers on a match-by-match basis – ‘taking into account the pitch production and efficiency at both individual and collective level’ – using data from OptaPro.
Indeed, out of all the players competing in Europe’s top five leagues, Dembele is ranked 20th with an impressive rating of 86/100. This high ranking sees him level with PSG star and Champions League winner Neymar, who is valued at £76m.
Dembele left Celtic to join Ligue 1 outfit Lyon for a reported fee of £19.7m back in 2018. And while that isn’t a bad price to get for a striker, it’s nothing compared to the £200m PSG paid Barcelona for Neymar’s services back in 2017.
And so, it’s quite remarkable that the former Bhoy is performing to such a high standard.
TIF Thoughts on Moussa Dembele and Celtic…
During his time with Celtic, Dembele certainly proved his quality as he netted 51 goals and provided 18 assists in 94 games. On top of that, he also won the SPFL on two occasions as well as winning numerous domestic cups.
Since joining Lyon, he has performed to a similar level, netting the same amount of assists but scoring 69 goals in 150 outings – though he is yet to win silverware with the French side.
This season, Dembele has scored twice in Ligue 1 in just 217 minutes of game time (including only one start), which is an impressive rate and may go some way to explain why he is ranked so high by CIES.
One of his better displays this term came in a 5-0 home win in the league against Angers. According to SofaScore, he scored once with just one shot at goal, won his only ground duel, completed 100% of his passes and made one successful tackle in a 24-minute cameo.
Of course, in the years since, Celtic have signed many players to help fill the void left by Dembele – one being Giorgos Giakoumakis, who arrived from Dutch second-tier side VVV-Venlo last September.
Would you take Moussa Dembele back at Celtic?
Yes
No
Seeing as both players have played six league games this term and have scored two goals, it seems suitable to compare them.
According to SofaScore, Dembele averages a marginally better average match rating. As well as that, Giakoumakis has also missed more big chances, has a far lower passing accuracy, loses the ball more often and is a less successful dribbler – though the Bhoy has scored his goals playing only 203 minutes.
And of course, Giakoumakis is doing that in the Scottish Premiership, whereas Dembele is doing it in one of Europe’s top five leagues, so presumably more difficult – thus making the Frenchman’s feats all the more impressive.
All in all, Dembele certainly showed his talent during his time with Celtic and his latest form may well have some fans wishing he had never left.