Moussa Dembele set to leave Celtic but not before European qualification is achieved as Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham wait
Admits Hoops' boss Brendan Rodgers: 'He is not a player we want to sell, but we know how football works ...'
CELTIC hotshot Moussa Dembele looks set to leave - but not before the Scottish champions have completed their Champions League qualification games.
That's the message from boss Brendan Rodgers with Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham all interested.
Dembele, 20, is a £25million target for London's top clubs after firing 32 goals in 48 games north of the border last season.
The ex-Fulham striker set the Scotland alight, with West Ham making an unsuccessful bid of £20m in January.
Former Liverpool manager Rodgers accepts Dembele is destined to leave for the Premier League but not before the European qualifying dust has settled.
He said: “Moussa is very content and happy.
“He is not a player we want to sell, but we know how football works and we’ll see what happens.
“But certainly not until after the Champions League qualifiers, there won’t be anything done before then.”
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Celtic enter the qualifying race at the second stage, where face Linfield or La Fiorita will await them.
Rodgers' hopes of hanging on to Dembele would doubtless be improved if the Hoops could actually make the group stage.
They did so last season when Dembele was particularly impressive in the games against Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach.
In recent years Celtic fans have seen both Virgil van Dijk and Victor Wanyama make highly successful moves to the Premier League.
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