Moussa Dembele-based Q&A with Fulham broadcaster

After Celtic signed Moussa Dembele from Fulham on a free transfer, we thought we’d catch up with a Fulham fan to get the lowdown on Brendan Rodgers’ first signing.

We spoke with Fulham fan, blogger and podcast host Russ Goldman of Cottagers Confidential to learn some more about Celtic’s newest player:

1. It’s looked likely for a while that Moussa Dembele was headed for the exit at Fulham, were you surprised to see it was Celtic that he joined?

I was surprised at first because he had been linked to several clubs in the Barclays Premier League, so I really thought he would end up with Chelsea or Liverpool.

However, after I had time to think about it, Celtic is really a great landing spot for him as a player. He will get a chance to consistently play, and will have the opportunity to play in the Champions League.

Dembele, I feel, has huge ambition so this move will help him progress in his development. He will also be reunited with Pat Roberts as they played together with the youth teams at Fulham. Together these two players were a dynamic duo so supporters of Celtic should be very excited.

2. Despite being so young, Dembele has been around the Fulham first-team for a while now. What was it about him that made him stand out from his peers and get first-team football?

I remember watching him play with the Under 18’s several years ago, and you could see the ability to score in many ways along with his pace. He scored goals at a very young age that were special, so I could tell this was a player on the rise. He also had the ability to be at the right place at the right time.

Fulham knew what they had with Dembele, and he worked his way through the Under 18’s and Under 21’s, but it was just a matter of time he would breakthrough which happened a few seasons ago.

3. Like we said, Dembele was in and around the first team for a while as a youngster but he really broke out last season, what would you attribute that to?

He finally got to play consistently, and he started to show what I have seen several years before with the youth teams. The more Dembele plays, the better he performs so as long as he plays consistently, Celtic will see the results.

He scored 17 goals for Fulham last season, and I think he is just scratching the surface on what he can do in the future.

4. Obviously, he’s young so there’ll be some inconsistencies in his play. What would you say are Dembele’s biggest weaknesses, what does he need to work on?

I think he needs to learn a little patience because there were times that he would rush a shot or try to do too much on his own. I think this is all a part of his development, and once he learns his teammates and what they can do, it should all fall into place for him.

The partnership he made with Ross McCormack was special so I am expecting him to have that same chemistry with Pat Roberts along with his other teammates over time. It is all about playing time for him.

5. Finally, if you had to project how Dembele’s career will pan out over the next few years, what would you say?

I hope he stays at Celtic for a few seasons, so he can develop further along with winning titles. However, this is a player who has huge ambition, so I expect him in 3-5 years to be playing at a top Barclays Premier League team or potentially going back to PSG. I expect him someday to be a top striker in any league.

If you want to know even more about Dembele, you can listen to the latest episode of Russ’ Cottage Talk podcast, which focuses solely on the striker