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 Birmingham'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."

They wrote Dembele has “extraordinary acceleration and elimination abilities.” They also stated that he “seems destined for a great career” and that he’s “vivid and agile”

He was named alongside Ansu Fati, Joelson Fernandes, Sebastiano Esposito, Mohamed Ihattaren and Karim Adeyemi. It's fair to say those six shouts weren't particularly successful.

But huge things were expected of Dembele.

What has happened to Karamoko Dembele?

He made just eight first-team appearances for Celtic - just 20 minutes during in final campaign at the club - 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 Dembele left Celtic Park last summer after nine years at the club. He looked for a new challenge and joined Ligue 1 side, Stade Brest.

How did Karamoko Dembele do in his first season for Brest?

Dembele signed a four-year deal with the French club and spoke of his excitement 12 months ago.

"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.

However, he certainly would have liked to play more than he did during the 2022/23 campaign.

Dembele played 17 times in all competitions last season, including 15 in Ligue 1. However, he played very much a bit-part role - failing to start a single league match. In fact, many of those substitute appearances came in the final 10 minutes with his earliest substitution coming in the 66th-minute.

His 15-minute cameo in the final game of the season against Rennes was his first appearance since February after being left out of the team for three months.

In those 17 games, Dembele failed to score or register an assist.

Brest finished a respectable 14th in the table.

Dembele has three more years left on his contract at the French club and will be hoping for plenty more opportunities next season. However, you can't blame him for fearing that he may have made the wrong move when deciding to leave Celtic.

At 20, Dembele would have been hoping to be playing regular first-team football - whether that was at Celtic or at a European giant. Instead, he's picking up a handful of minutes each week in Ligue 1 if he's lucky.

What next for Karamoko Dembele?

So what does the future hold in store for the winger?

There's a reason Brest offered Dembele a four-year contract and will no doubt have plans for him in the upcoming season. But can Dembele accept missing on so much first-team football at such a crucial stage of his footballing career?

One man who is hoping he can go on to fulfil his incredible potential is former Celtic boss, Neil Lennon.

Lennon was in charge of Celtic while Dembele was there and

When asked if Dembele can fulfill his potential, Lennon said: “I hope so. He had a lot of attention for someone so young, which sometimes can be a good thing, and other times not.

“He was definitely a very talented player, but he found it difficult to make the transition from the youth team to the first team, in terms of the training. He found it physically difficult.

“I’m glad to see he is getting some more game time [at Brest]. He is obviously maturing and doing the work behind the scenes.

“I think he can go on to have a decent career. I’m not sure what level he can go to, that will all depend on him. But he is certainly very talented.

“All he needs to do now is stay on it, in terms of his physical condition and let his body develop to the rigours of first-team football.”

And on the immense pressure on him at such a young age, Lennon added: “It was huge, and that was difficult for him.

“I think he always wanted to go and play abroad and he does have ambitions to play at a higher level. He certainly has the talent to go and do that.

“Of course, it’s not just about the talent. He has to work on his temperament and all the other professional things that go with it.”