The question as to whether or not we’re going to sell Dembele isn’t the only one that needs to be answered in this window.
If he’s sold it has to give the manager enough time to sort out who will replace him in the squad. Is it in our interests to spend money on a new striker, right away, or will we make do with what we have for the current campaign?
Griffiths is an outstanding player and will score goals. Edouard is rated highly, and although he’s not our player yet we have the mechanics of a deal in place to make the current loan permanent. And we have a kid in the youth team – Jack Aitchison – who is highly rated at the club. Nothing gives fans more satisfaction than to see one of the academy players coming through and doing a job, and this kid has all the talent in the world.
But is it enough?
Would Celtic fans settle for that?
Or would the big transfer fee we receive, on top of what we’ve already brought in from the Van Dijk sell-on, raise expectations through the roof for the signing to end them all? Would fans accept a young kid from the academy replacing a footballer who last year was one of the most coveted in Europe?
This is a question they will be asking inside Celtic Park, if Dembele really is on the way out. The concern, of course, will be what this does for our prospects in Europe; in truth, not much I think. The problem there was never going to be putting the ball in the net – we have two other players in the aforementioned Griffiths and Edouard who are quite capable of that – it was going to be keeping it from going into the net at the other end.
Brendan is clearly working on that problem, as our first signing demonstrates.
But fans will expect something big if Moussa Dembele departs in this window; this is why I don’t think he will. It would raise old concerns about a board that lacks ambition. It would allow the media to write stories about whether the manager feels fully supported.
Those sorts of questions, we don’t need.
Those sorts of stories, we can do without.
This club is in its strongest position for years. Speaking for myself, I will not mistake perception for reality; if we strengthen in other areas sufficiently to say that the squad comes out of this window stronger than it went in, it won’t matter if Dembele goes and no striker is signed. But Brendan has worked his miracles. He has us on the cusp of a seventh title and we’re a handful of Scottish Cup games from back to back trebles. We’re in Europe after Christmas.
Others at Celtic Park need to step up and give it everything, as he and the players have.
This looks like a year of great promise.
If we’re going to fulfil it, there can be no sitting still.
