Ruairi Daly 
Charles McQuillan/Getty Images Sport
Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he didn’t know that 13-year-old Karamoko Dembele played for the development squad and urged for caution following the huge scope put on him.
Dembele came on as a substitute for Celtic’s under-20’s against Hearts in a 3-1 win due to a number of youngsters on international duty as footage of him playing went viral.
Speaking about the youngster as quoted by the Daily Mail, Rodgers said:
I didn’t know he was playing Would I have sanctioned it? That’s not the point. The point is he’s played. You just have to be very careful.
He is a kid. That’s what he is. He’s not a 13-year-old in the body of a 19-year-old. He doesn’t have those maturation levels. He really looks 13.
As much as what his ability is and how fast he is, the worry for me when I saw it was if a 25-year-old tackles him.
The guys who work here are very good at their job and I’m sure they probably never realised the scope of media attention it would have had. But it’s football – I oversee football.
I obviously trust the guys here who do great work. Chris McCart, Jim McGuiness and Tommy McIntyre, they are doing a very good job with the young players.
Rodgers has previously developed Raheem Sterling, now of Manchester City and turned the youngster into a £50 million player after an impressive two-year spell at Liverpool under the guidance of the Irishman.
Celtic fans will remember Islam Feruz, who was negatively influenced by the promise of a lucrative contract and lifestyle by his agent as a 16-year-old and has subsequently struggled to make an impact at Chelsea.
Fans will be hoping the same doesn’t happen to Dembele, who was advised by Feruz earlier this week to remain at Celtic after he revealed his own regret at leaving the Hoops too soon.
French under-21 international Moussa Dembele also gave his views on the youngster training with the first-team earlier this season, after he picked up the Player of the Month Award for September.
Celtic are in action again tomorrow (Saturday) against Motherwell at Paradise before they return to action in the Champions League in a crucial game against Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach.
