Michael Oliver 
Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images Sport
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has offered advice to Celtic striker Moussa Dembele by stating he could be as good as Real Madrid greats Ronaldo and Raul.
Zidane, a France legend, has kept track of the progress of the French Uner-21 star throughout his career and says he is not surprised at how Dembele has developed into one of Europe’s best young strikers.
As quoted by the Daily Record, he said:
Dembele is one of the most talked about young strikers in Europe at the moment but it has not surprised me at all – I always saw that.
I do understand now that the biggest clubs in Europe are being linked with him and that will be his destination eventually – but my advice now is ignore it all.
He can progress well at Celtic, at a great club who are in Europe, and under a very good coach.
I know his time will come but he needs to make good decisions – and his next at least one or two seasons should be with Celtic.
He isn’t just scoring goals, he is scoring big goals, important goals like the one against Rangers. That to me is always the sign of a great player.
Dembele’s natural talent and ability has Zidane likening him to some true greats of the game in Ronaldo, Raul and Thierry and says he’s showing some signs of one day emulating their success.
I have played with the greatest strikers, Ronaldo, Henry, Raul, and you knew on the biggest occasions they would win you games – and Dembele is already showing that.
Since leaving Fulham in the summer and making the move to Celtic for a nominal compensation fee of just £500,000, the 20-year-old striker has proven he can score against any opposition, including Manchester City in the Champions League and Zidane believes this will give him the confidence that he can go into any game believing he will score.
The Real Madrid boss accepts the fact that soon enough, Dembele will outgrow the Scottish champions and one of Europe’s elite clubs will soon come calling for him, but he hopes he can ignore it for now and knuckle down at Celtic.
Dembele has 14 goals in 20 appearances for Celtic since he signed, most recently a Betfred Cup semi-final winner against Rangers last weekend, proving that he can step up in the big games and be a match-winner.
