Blackpool agree deal for ex-Celtic winger following Blackburn Rovers interest | OneFootball

Blackpool's return to League One is not going as planned after just five matches of the 2023-24 campaign.

After opening their season with a 2-0 home success over Burton Albion, Neil Critchley's side followed that up with three successive 0-0 draws as they struggled to break down opposition sides.

And on their travels this past weekend against Lincoln City, the Seasiders were humiliated at Sincil Bank as they lost 3-0 to Mark Kennedy's Imps and finished the match with 10 men thanks to Oliver Norburn's 72nd minute red card, having been booked twice in the space of two minutes.

That result has perhaps put Critchley's plans into a spiral, both in the remaining days of the transfer window and from a tactical standpoint as well, having gone with a 3-5-2 formation so far this season.

It looks as though Critchley could be having a rethink after a drubbing in Lincolnshire though as the player that looks set to sign for the Tangerines is an out-and-out winger, which could mean switching back to a back four.

According to a report from footballscotland, Blackpool are on the verge of signing 20-year-old winger Karamoko Dembele on a season-long loan deal from French club Stade Brestois.

Dembele is set to depart the Ligue 1 outfit on a temporary basis and he is going to undergo a medical at the Bloomfield Road outfit in a bid to somewhat kickstart his career, having been touted as a wonderkid in his early years in the professional game.

French publication L'Equipe reported earlier in the transfer window that Blackburn Rovers had made an enquiry to take the young forward on loan, but it is League One where he will be heading to instead.

Who is Karamoko Dembele?

The younger brother of fleet-footed Birmingham City attacker Siriki Dembele, Karamoko joined Celtic in 2013 at the age of 10 after growing up in Scotland.

In 2016, at the age of 13, Dembele gained notoriety for making his Celtic under-20's debut, and two years later he signed his first professional contract with the Hoops at the age of 15, and in May 2019 when he was 16 years old the winger made his first-team debut against Hearts.

First-team football ended up being a rarity for Dembele though, appearing just the five times in the 2020-21 season and in the build-up to the following campaign, he fractured his ankle in a friendly against Bristol City.

Dembele, who has played youth football for both England and Scotland, played just the once in his final year at Celtic before moving on to Brest of France when his contract expired, where he played 15 times in the top flight of French football in his first season - all from the bench.

And despite featuring for Brest this past weekend against Marseille, Dembele is set to make the move to the third tier of England to give Blackpool a different dynamic at the top end of the pitch.

Is Karamoko Dembele a good signing for Blackpool?

Blackpool will of course have to change how they set up to accommodate Dembele, but it has to be viewed as a good signing for the Tangerines.

Dembele is still pretty short in stature and won't be outmuscling any big full-backs anytime soon, but his pace and trickery should be a game-changer in the final third in League One.

Despite Critchley utilising wing-backs in the early stages of the season, he has the likes of CJ Hamilton and Owen Dale as out-and-out wingers, whilst Kyle Joseph and Shayne Lavery have both played out wide in the last year, so the transition to a formation with wide attackers should be an easy one to make and Dembele should fit in.