Fulham starlet Moussa Dembele joins Celtic as Brendan Rodgers completes his first signing for the Scottish club

Moussa Dembele
Dembele has decided to join Celtic on a four-year deal

Brendan Rodgers has pulled off his first piece of magic since taking over at Celtic after agreeing on a move for Fulham wonder kid Moussa Dembele, according to Celtic’s official website.

Dembele, 19 has decided to join Celtic on a four-year deal after he was guaranteed first team action at Celtic Park which was not the case with any of the Premier League sides he was linked with.

In recent months Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Southampton were credited with an interest in the former PSG starlet but Celtic made a late dart and have now completed Dembele’s signing on a free transfer.

This move comes as a big blow to Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham who were the most interested club in bringing Dembele to Premier League. Spurs were eyeing Dembele as a viable back-up to Harry Kane, who will need to be kept fresh next season amid Champions League involvement.

There were talks of Dembele even going through his medical at White Hart Lane but the move was scuppered midway due to disagreement over the contract offered to the France Under-20 star.

In his first piece of business at Celtic, Brendan Rodgers sanctioned the exit of Stefan Scepovic, who has been sold to Getafe to ensure Dembele gets the leading striker role at the club. Scepovic spent last season on loan at Getafe and will now join them on a permanent move later this week.

The 19-year old Dembele scored 15 goals for Fulham last season and was a revelation in an otherwise poor side. His performances had made noises across Europe with Juventus interested in his signature as well.

However, Dembele has now signed for Celtic after completing his medical earlier today. According to BBC, Scottish Champions will be required to pay a small compensation to Fulham which is expected to be in the region of £320,000.

Brendan Rodgers has opted to put his faith in young players much like his stint at Liverpool and is hoping that Dembele continues his goal-scoring run from Fulham which made him an overnight star.

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Edited by Staff Editor