Karamoko Dembélé signs professional Celtic deal
Celtic have agreed a three-year professional contract with teenage prodigy and reported Chelsea target, 15-year-old Karamoko Dembélé.
Teenage sensation Karamoko Dembélé has signed a professional contract with Celtic that ties him to the Scottish champions until 2021.
Dembélé has progressed through the youth ranks at Celtic at an alarming rate, playing for their Under-20 side in 2016 at just 13.
The 15-year-old’s rise has seen him linked with Chelsea and Manchester City but he will begin his professional career at Celtic, with Brendan Rodgers expecting him to be challenging for a first-team place soon.
"My goal is to play for the first team," Dembélé told the club's official website. "As soon as I can, I'm going to try to get into the first team, 100 per cent.
"In the reserves, every training session, every game – it's all to prove myself to the manager that I can play in the first team."
He added: "I'd like to say thank you to everyone, and I'd like to thank everyone for everything they've done for me.
"I'd also like to thank everyone for the training I've received, the discipline I've been taught, and the advice I've been given all the way.
"Getting attention at a young age has been hard. You need to be strong mentally, you need to stay grounded, and you just need to get on with everything that you do on a daily basis.
"Seeing players come through the academy and into the first team gives you hope, because you know they’ve taken the same path.
"That means you’ve got a chance to make it into the first team if you work hard and give it your all."