Ange Postecoglou means business in the transfer market at the moment, with Celtic concluding a number of deals before their first competitive fixture in Europe next week.
They added Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide to their ranks swiftly before concluding moves for Liel Abada and Kyogo Furuhashi.
What’s the word?
Celtic’s recruitment won’t stop there as the Bhoys aim to bring in a few other attacking faces. Gorica winger Kristijan Lovric is fielding interest from the Hoops once again and he could move to Paradise in a £5m deal.
However, the Bhoys have now been presented with an ideal opportunity to sign another long-term target in Peterborough forward Siriki Dembele.
Brother to Karamoko Dembele, the nippy attacker has been the subject of discussion at Celtic for a number of months now. His contract expires in a year's time and thus he could be available on the cheap.
A fresh report from the Peterborough Telegraph stated that a move to Scotland would be preferred amid links to Rangers, Fulham, West Brom and Nottingham Forest. Dembele spent a part of his childhood in Scotland, so he is already familiar with the surroundings.
Postecoglou needs him
If the Peterborough winger arrives at Parkhead this summer, it may then allow the new Celtic manager to kill two birds with one stone. Mohamed Elyounoussi has returned to Southampton after his successful loan spell in Glasgow, while Odsonne Edouard could still depart, so the Hoops could do with attacking reinforcements.
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Although a potential move to Leicester City fell through after they preferred RB Salzburg’s Patson Daka, West Ham have been keen on adding the Frenchman to their ranks.
Therefore, with the ability to play out wide or as a centre-forward, Dembele could act as a replacement for the pair of them in the Hoops squad. He started out as a winger but in recent years has been turned into a striker where’s been incredibly ruthless in the final third.
The 24-year-old has beaten the goalkeeper on 25 occasions in his Posh career, 12 of which came during the 2020/21 season.
Peterborough were promoted from League One to the Championship and Dembele was one of the stars of the show. He supplied 12 assists for his teammates and was one of the most successful players in terms of take-ons in the third tier of English football.
The winger completed 135 dribbles at a rate of 3.2 per match, the highest tally in League One by some distance.
With that in mind, Barry Fry's appraisal (as per Football FanCast) will come as no surprise. He said: “Siriki can get the ball in his own half and with dazzling dribbling ability, he can beat four or five players and score a wonder goal or cross it for somebody else to score.”
Fry added: "He's very, very exciting. He's got the best stats outside the [English] Premier League, I think. We'll try to keep hold of him if we go up, and we'll make him an offer he can’t refuse! So watch this space."
Dembele has caught the eye for a while now, and with a switch to Scotland favoured, Postecoglou must turn his attentions to the 24-year-old, who could add a vibrant threat to their frontline.