Glasgow giants Celtic have had their fair share of producing some of the finest Scottish footballers.
You just have to look at Scotland’s recent squad to see the influence the Scottish Premiership side has had on the Tartan Army with the likes of Aaron Hickey, Kieran Tierney and Callum McGregor having all previously been on the Hoops’ books.
The Bhoys’ fans are some of the most loyal set of supporters with the love and affection they show to their players is unmatched, so when an academy player is brought through Lennoxtown it makes their connection with the player so much more special.
Former Celtic player John Hartson previously stated that McGregor has “become a legend” for the Scottish giants and it looked like former academy wonderkid Karamoko Dembele was once on track to achieve the same icon status as the Hoops’ captain.
Fast forward to 2023 and the once-proclaimed “good talent” by former Celtic teammate Moussa Dembele is now looking for game time in League 1.
Who is Karamoko Dembele?
If you were an avid football fan in 2016, then Dembele was a name you would hear very frequently, especially on social media platforms.
The hype train surrounding the teenage sensation had officially left the station when media outlets noticed the then 13-year-old playing for Celtic’s under-20 side. The tiny winger going up against adults was quite the sight to see but he often came out on top.
Highlight competitions of the English-born winger lightning up opposition defenders in youth matches soon flooded YouTube as he became one of the most highly anticipated prospects in the world.
Dembele was eligible to play for England and Scotland with both nations soon fighting over the player who was described as “very similar to Lionel Messi”, according to the winger's former youth coach David Feeney.
The Celtic phenomenon controversially decided to play for England at youth level having already made appearances for the Tartan Army. An international tug-of-war began for what was thought to be for a future starter for their senior teams.
How did Dembele play at Celtic?
At the age of 13, the spotlight fell onto the Celtic wonderkid and by the time he was 16, he finally made his first team debut, coming off the bench to replace Oliver Burke during the final league match of the season in 2019.
The atmosphere around Celtic Park was electric as it was the day that the Bhoys would lift their eighth consecutive league title, one of the biggest roars that the Green Brigade produced was when Dembele was gearing up on the sidelines to show everyone what the hype was about.
Despite not being involved in any goals in the 44 minutes he played, the talented winger still showed glimpses of a future star waiting to be unearthed.
Then Celtic manager Neil Lennon said after the winger's debut that fans have just seen a “glimpse of the future”.
Lennon’s vision of the future turned out to be misjudged as Dembele played just nine more times for the Glasgow outfit over the next three seasons.
Failure to break into the first team the England youth international’s hype was fading quickly and if he was to resurrect his career to align with what pundits have previously predicted of him, then he needed to find a new home to give him more minutes.
What was Dembele’s next move?
The then 19-year-year would decide to part ways with Celtic and would swap Glasgow for the northwest of France as he put pen to paper to officially become a Stade Brest player on a four-year deal.
Upon signing for Brest, Dembele said:
"I came to Brest because I saw that the project presented by Greg Lorenzi was good. It's something that suits me and I think I can have some playing time here. It was a great opportunity that presented itself to me and it interested me.
"I'm very explosive, I like to have fun and give it to the fans. I like to score and win."
A move to the mid-table Ligue 1 outfit may not have been in the plans of Dembele.
One of football’s best up-and-coming talents was once linked to a move to Premier League giants Manchester City, and would now be playing for a side that was participating in the second division of French football four seasons prior.
Life at the Stade Francis-Le Blé was particularly successful for the £1k-per-week player as he played just 15 games (all coming from the bench) during the course of the 2022/23 season while not contributing to a single goal.
According to WhoScored, Dembele averaged a measly 0.1 dribbles and 0.2 key passes per game signifying how tough he was finding his time in France.
Why did Dembele fail to live up to the hype?
There have been countless players touted as being the next future superstar looking to conquer domestic and international football.
Like Dembele, former AC Milan prodigy Hachim Mastour and American prospect Freddy Adu were expected to become global superstars before they were even 16.
Most teenage prospects fail to live up to their hype due to a lack of dedication and professionalism but Dembele injuries hampered his momentum.
Under former manager Ange Postecoglou, the 5 foot 7 winger failed to break into the dominant Celtic starting 11 with the Hoops being stacked with options. His rivals for a position in the squad were with the likes of Jota and Kyogo Furuhashi who would end the season scoring double figures.
In a make-or-break season for Dembele, the agile forward played just one game after being ruled out for 213 days and missing 44 matches as he picked up an ankle injury.
Celtic's wingers 2021/22 stats, as per FBRef Name Games Goals Assists Karamoko Dembele 1 0 0 Jota 29 10 9 Daizen Maeda 16 6 5 Kyogo Furuhashi 20 12 0 James Forrest 19 1 2 Where is Dembele now?
Still contracted to Brest, Dembele now finds himself back in his native Britain playing for League 1 side Blackpool on loan.
The Tangerines will hope they can bounce back to the Championship following their relegation last season.
Blackpool head coach Neil Critchley has recruited some relatively young players to help him guide Blackpool to promotion – 21-year-old Jenson Weir and 23-year-old Albie Morgan are some of the more noteworthy players brought to Bloomfield Road.
Dembele has played once for the Seasiders so far this season, the former Celtic winger produced an impressive performance in his side's 2-0 victory over Barrow in the EFL Trophy at the start of the month.
However, he is yet to start in the league since making his temporary switch.
Andy Robertson and Serge Gnabry are some examples of players who were written off too early so if Dembele can make the most of his loan spell in the north west there’s still a good chance he can revitalise his career into the top player we know he can be.