Celtic could end up wishing they 'should have held onto' Karamoko Dembele | OneFootball

Highlights

Celtic took a 'risk' by allowing Karamoko Dembele to leave Parkhead last year, and journalist Dean Jones has told GIVEMESPORT that Bhoys boss Brendan Rodgers could end up regretting the decision for a key reason.

Having burst onto the scene with the reigning Scottish Premiership champions, the winger is now plying his trade with League One side Blackpool after joining on a season-long loan from French outfit Brest in a deal which Tangerines chief Neil Critchley admitted he was 'excited' to complete during the final hours of the summer transfer window.

Dembele has made a promising start to his spell at Bloomfield Road, racking up three goals and as many assists in his first 14 appearances before making the trip to high-flying Portsmouth on Saturday.

Dembele struggled to meet expectations

Dembele was rewarded with his first professional contract when making waves at Celtic at the age of 15, according to The Guardian, with him immediately setting himself a goal of becoming a first-team regular during Rodgers' initial spell at the Glasgow giants' helm.

But the former England under-18 international found it difficult to secure regular game time at senior level and only went on to make 10 appearances before moving onto pastures new when his deal was not renewed in 2022.

Blackpool chief Critchley has called Celtic into question for refusing to hand Dembele more opportunities to impress during his time at Parkhead, claiming he would have profited from going out on loan if his path to regular minutes was going to continuously be blocked.

But, having been named by French newspaper L'Equipe as one of the six 'outstanding young players set to revolutionise the game', the wide-man also struggled to make an impact when he joined Brest, where he signed a four-year contract after walking away from Scotland.

Dembele was restricted to just 252 minutes of action and failed to register a single goal contribution before heading to Blackpool in a bid to rediscover the form which had resulted in him being earmarked as one of the game's most exciting up-and-coming talents.

Dean Jones update - Karamoko Dembele

Jones believes Celtic took a gamble by allowing Dembele to walk away as a free agent as he had already shown, while coming through the ranks, that he is capable of causing countless problems for defenders.

Although the reporter has doubts over whether the Bhoys are currently regretting their decision to release the 20-year-old, who made his under-20 debut at the age of just 13, he feels an impressive campaign on Blackpool's books may result in Rodgers feeling a key mistake was made while Ange Postecoglou was at the helm.

Jones told GIVEMESPORT:

Tilio open to leaving Parkhead amid struggles

Marco Tilio is willing to seal a quickfire exit from Celtic when the transfer window reopens in January, according to the Daily Record, if his game time does not increase before the transfer window opens for business.

The report suggests the 22-year-old, who completed a £1.5million switch from Melbourne City during the summer, is open to heading out on loan after growing frustrated at his lack of opportunities in his new surroundings.

Although transfer insider Jones recently told GIVEMESPORT that he expected Tilio to prove himself to be a 'really exciting' addition to the squad as Celtic went in search of another Scottish Premiership title, he is still waiting to make his debut after injury problems have robbed him of the chance to stake a claim and work his way into the forefront of Rodgers' plans.

But the winger has previously shown that he is capable of being a serious threat in the final third of the pitch as he has racked up 41 goal contributions in his homeland while with Melbourne and Sydney FC.

Tilio's search for regular game time will have also gone up a notch as he continued his return to full fitness by coming off the bench for the final stages as the Australia under-23 side beat Qatar during the international break.