Karamoko Dembele: What's happened to the Celtic wonderkid? | OneFootball

Do you remember the name, Karamoko Dembele?

The wonderkid burst onto the football scene at a young age while at Celtic in Scotland.

At just 13, he played for the club’s under-20 side.

The tiny winger, who is the younger brother of Bournemouth’s Siriki, was compared to Lionel Messi due to his stature and dribbling ability.

At the age of 13 in 2016, he played in Celtic under-20’s 3-1 victory over Hearts. An almost comical image of the small lad coming on as a sub soon went viral.

He became a household name and represented both Scotland and England at youth level – although hasn’t committed his international career to either nation.

A few years later during the 2018/19 season at the age of 16, he made his senior debut under Neil Lennon and also collected a Scottish Premiership winners’ medal.

That same year, he was named by French outlet L’Equipe as one of the six “outstanding young players set to revolutionise the game.”

He was named alongside Ansu Fati, Joelson Fernandes, Sebastiano Esposito, Mohamed Ihattaren and Karim Adeyemi.

Huge things were expected of him.

But things haven’t exactly gone to plan for the youngster since his senior debut.

He’s made just eight first-team appearances for Celtic – just 20 minutes during last season – as he struggled with a serious ankle injury. He did, however, score during the 2020/21 campaign in a 4-0 win over St. Johnstone.

But now, Dembele has left Celtic Park.

The now 19-year-old is ready for a new challenge and has signed for Ligue 1 side, Stade Brest.

Dembele has signed a four-year deal with the French club, who finished 11th in the French top-flight last season. He will wear the No.18 shirt and is excited at his new opportunity.

“I came to Brest because I saw that the project presented by Greg Lorenzi was good,” said Dembele. “It’s something that suits me and I think I can have some playing time here. It was a great opportunity that presented itself to me and it interested me.

“I’m very explosive, I like to have fun and give it to the fans and. I like to score and win.”

At the age of 19, Dembele is still young and has plenty of time to fulfil his incredible potential. And a change of scenery might be the perfect springboard for him to kickstart his senior career.