When Karamoko Dembele was introduced to the Celtic faithful as a 16-year-old, there was natural hype drawn towards him.
It’s not often that a player breaks into the first team setup so young, let alone at Parkhead where the Bhoys have been so dominant in the last ten years.
However, despite his aesthetically pleasing style of football, chances have been few and far between for the teenager. Now 18, Dembele is still yet to start a senior game for the Hoops.
That could change this weekend after his impact in midweek, though. The youngster earned 11 minutes of action during the 4-0 win over St Johnstone and provided Celtic supporters with a timely glimpse towards the future.
It has been a bleak season but Dembele sourced some positivity to score his first senior goal, which was a typical piece of play from the flashy winger. Set free down the right-hand side, the forward showed immense pace to get beyond the defence and then tuck the ball confidently past the goalkeeper.
In one swift blow to St Johnstone, Dembele showed why he has to become the future of the Parkhead club. With a player so quick and tricky, the Hoops will always have a chance of producing a moment of magic from somewhere.
Coincidentally, he could be joined in Glasgow by his brother this summer. Celtic have been tracking Peterborough United forward Siriki Dembele over the last few months with a view to making a move in the summer transfer window.
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Dembele is out of contract in the summer of 2022 but Posh director of football Barry Fry is trying his utmost to keep the 24-year-old. Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast last month, he said: "We'll try to keep hold of him if we go up, and we'll make him an offer he can refuse! So watch this space."
The difficulty for Peterborough is that Dembele possesses attributes you’d dream of having in your team. Capable of playing out wide or through the middle, he has pace in abundance, while he can score goals and create them in equal measure.
His record of 25 goals in 122 games for Posh might not be too striking but this is a player improving all the time. Dembele has 12 goals and 12 assists this term, becoming one of the most dangerous players in the English Football League.
Like his brother Karamoko, he is a tremendous carrier of the ball. In the words of Fry, Siriki has “dazzling dribbling ability”, something supplemented by his simply jaw-dropping numbers.
No player has completed more dribbles in the third tier of English football than Dembele this season. He has registered 135 at a rate of 3.2 per game; a full 49 more than any other individual.
With that in mind, just imagine how dangerous Celtic could be with the two brothers playing in tandem. It’s a mouth-watering thought, an image which should excite Hoops fans about watching their team play football again. They simply must reunite the pair this summer.