It is no secret that Celtic were interested in the signing of Siriki Dembele this summer, with numerous reports suggesting that the Bhoys wanted to reunite the centre-forward with his younger brother, Karamoko, at Parkhead.

However, upon the closure of the transfer window, the 25-year-old remained on the books at Peterborough United, with talk of the striker being offered a new deal at the Weston Homes Stadium, as his current deal is due to expire at the end of the season.

Although, according to recent comments made by Peterborough chairman Darragh McAnthony (as cited by the Daily Record), the Championship side look to be allowing the forward to run his contract down, as well as suggesting that Posh could cash in on the player this January - should they receive a significant offer.

Speaking about the future of the former Grimsby Town man, McAnthony said: "Siriki is a top-end Championship talent. He's not in the shop window. We are not actively looking to sell him in January so any clubs who think it's 'bargain city' as he only has six months left on his contract can think again.

"Now, if a club offered us a premium price of say, £7m with add-ons, we would have a decision to make, but if he did go we have plans B and C in place to cope."

Major coup

While £7m is undoubtedly an extremely hefty price for a player who Celtic could potentially land for free just six months later, it would nevertheless be difficult to argue that the signing of Dembele would not be a major coup for Ange Postecoglou and his side, as the 25-year-old is certainly a player who boasts a significant amount of potential.

Indeed, over his 42 League One appearances for Peterborough last season, the £1.08m-rated man scored 11 goals, registered ten assists and created a whopping 17 big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.8 shots and making 1.5 key passes per game.

These returns saw Dembele earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.06, ranking him as the club's joint seventh-best performer in the third tier of English football.

The centre-forward has continued this fine form into his 14 Championship appearances this season, with the £2.6k-per-week man scoring four goals, providing two assists and creating one big chance for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.1 shots and making 0.9 key passes per fixture.

These metrics have seen the player who Darren Ferguson dubbed an "outstanding" talent average a SofaScore match rating of 6.86, ranking him as Posh's joint third-best performer in the league.

As such, considering his obvious ability in front of goal, in addition to the fact that the likes of Rangers, Fulham and West Bromwich Albion are also reported to be interested in his services, should Celtic manage to land the 25-year-old either in January or a free next summer, he would certainly represent something of a significant coup for the club.

Indeed, if the striker were to be able to continue the form he has demonstrated for Peterborough over the last two seasons after a move to Parkhead, he could well go on to return similar numbers to his namesake Moussa Dembele in the green and white of Celtic.

A similarly boisterous character in the penalty box, the Frenchman combined speed with exquisite finishing, bullying defenders. That's precisely the type of displays we could see from the Celtic-linked forward. He'd be a great signing at Parkhead.

In other news: "Absolutely not": Journo drops claim on wanted 12 G/A ace, Celtic fans would be fuming