Alan Hutton has urged Celtic to re-sign Moussa Dembele amid his Lyon contract expiring.
Hutton has insisted that Celtic should attempt to re-sign their former striker after his career hit a brick wall as he enters the final six months of his contract.
Dembele left Glasgow in the summer of 2018 in a £20m deal to the French giants after bagging 51 times and registering 18 assists in just 94 games in his two-year spell at Parkhead.
The Frenchman initially thrived at Lyon where he scored 44 times in his first two seasons in all competitions before a terrible 2020/21 campaign saw him net just once in 23 games for Lyon and on a forgettable loan stint at Atletico Madrid.
He then incredibly found his goalscoring touch again as he notched 21 Ligue 1 goals, with an astonishing 17 coming in his final 18, finishing third in the league’s top scorers last season.
However, his hot streak has gone cold again with only two bagged this season, the latest coming in September.
The 26-year-old could now be after a fresh start with Hutton telling Football Insider that Celtic should make an attempt to re-sign him.
“I do not see why you would not,”
“He was excellent during his time at Celtic, he obviously got the big money move. If we are talking £4m it would be a no-brainer.
“He knows the club, he knows what it is all about. He has still got that connection with the fans, he likes his little dig at Rangers now and then so he obviously loves to be involved in all of that.
“I still think he has got a lot to give but I do not think Celtic would be his only option at that kind of price. I think strikers are hard to come by at that level so I am sure he will have other options as well,” Hutton said.
TIF Thoughts on Hutton’s comments…
Dembele’s two-year spell at Celtic has clearly endeared the club to him but he’s already been reported by En Son Haber (relayed by the Daily Record) to be the subject of a bid by Galatasaray.
He won’t be short of suitors next month and as appealing as a return to Glasgow would be, it surely won’t be the step forward he’d be after at this point in his career.
But the 26-year-old is a must-buy if Ange Postecoglou’s side can achieve it with him the perfect number nine to hold down that centre-forward position which has been rotated between Kyogo Furuhashi and Georgios Giakoumakis.
He’s previously shown before in Scotland and at Lyon, he’s still a danger in front of goal and you’d back him to re-find last season’s goal touch again at Celtic.