The problem with winning a tough transfer battle for someone like Moussa Dembele, and then having the player do well, is that other clubs are always going to be circling.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers did very well to persuade Dembele to move to Celtic Park in the summer, despite the attention of perhaps more attractive destinations. Tottenham had tried to sign Dembele in the last winter transfer window, but the young Frenchman made the move to Celtic for first team football.
Over the past 24 hours he’s been linked with a move to Bundesliga high flyers RB Leipzig, but going past the headlines, and looking at the actual German claims, there doesn’t seem a great deal to be worried about.
German newspaper Bild speculate that a few Leipzig fringe players may be looking toward the exit. That would lead Leipzig to look at potential recruitment.
The German club’s sporting director Ralf Rangnick has long been an admirer of Dembele, and so two and two are added together and that’s the story.
If Dembele was to leave Celtic then he’d probably want a club more established at the very top level. Leipzig may be flying high in the Bundesliga, but they hardly have the pull of someone like Bayern Munich.
At the end of November, little over a week ago, Dembele himself said: “I’ve got a four-year contract here, and I hope it can be for longer. I don’t see myself anywhere else but at Celtic… No, I won’t be leaving this winter.”
So, what we have is speculation some fringe Leipzig players could leave, and then speculation Rangnick could reignite his long held Dembele admiration. It’s not the time for panic.
