Dembele called up for international duty
Celtic’s 13-year-old star Karamoko Dembele, who shot to fame when he made his debut for the club’s Under-20s development side a few weeks ago, will find himself playing with players of an older age group after he was selected in Scotland’s Under-16s Victory Shield squad.
Dembele is also eligible to play for both England and the Ivory Coast but Scotland have looked to steal a march by selecting him in their squad.
Brendan Rodgers admitted that he was surprised to hear that Dembele had come on for the final nine minutes of Celtic Under-20s’ win against Hearts in early October and promised to try to protect him from the media.
However, this call up will do little to ease the hype around the 13-year-old, especially if he makes regular appearances against the Northern Ireland, Wales, and Republic of Ireland youth squads in the mini tournament.
Celtic made Jack Aitchison the youngest-ever player in the final game of last season, where he scored with his first touch as a professional. He made his debut aged 16 years and 71 days, time will tell if Dembele can break that record.