Why £2.5m Celtic target could explode like Moussa Dembele at Parkhead

It’s hard to believe that it was a decade ago that Moussa Dembele arrived at Parkhead, the young Frenchman swiftly cementing talismanic status in a Celtic shirt.

Plucked from Fulham on a bargain £500k deal, the then-19-year-old enjoyed the dream start to life in Glasgow, memorably netting a hat-trick on his derby debut in September 2016, the same month in which he also scored that double against Manchester City.

In all, that stellar campaign ended with the prolific striker having scored 32 goals in all competitions, while he exited a year later with a total tally of 51 goals in just 94 games in green and white.

His stay was short and sweet, but boy was it fruitful. Martin O’Neill could do with a similar injection of quality in the present day…

Remembering Celtic’s best scoring seasons since 2016

The best performance by any player in terms of goalscoring since Henrik Larsson actually remains Leigh Griffiths’ 40-goal campaign back in 2015/16, although there have been a raft of success stories since.

With Griffiths somewhat cast aside under Brendan Rodgers, it was Dembele who took on the goalscoring mantle in 2016/17, prior to Scott Sinclair’s own heroics from the left flank in the year after.

The next three years belonged to Dembele’s free-scoring compatriot, Odsonne Edouard, the former Paris Saint-Germain starlet so consistently lethal in Glasgow, arguably to an even greater degree than the man he had replaced.

Following on from that, the arrival of Ange Postecoglou brought with it the addition of a certain Kyogo Furuhashi, with the Japanese speedster subsequently dominating the scoring charts himself thereafter.

Kyogo’s final full season did see Matt O’Riley take his own goalscoring game up a notch from central midfield, while the decision to repurpose Daizen Maeda as a makeshift striker in 2024/25 worked wonders, as the cult hero hit 33 goals in all competitions.

Where once it was the number nines delivering the goods at Parkhead, the post-Kyogo woes were best epitomised last term, with playmaker Benjamin Nygren stealing the show with 21 goals across all competitions, the Swede shouldering the burden as those around him toiled for much of the campaign.

Heading into next season, O’Neill’s squad needs a fresh lick of paint to ensure that it is again the forward line stealing the headlines, with new signings needed as a matter of urgency.

Why Celtic could be looking to sign the next Mousa Dembele

With Camilo Duran having been snapped up from Qarabag, and with O’Neill keen to keep Kelechi Iheanacho around for at least another year, work is underway to try and bolster the attacking unit.

Egypt’s Haissem Hassan remains the primary target for the right flank, although the potential exit of Maeda has ensured that the opposite side could also require a fresh face, not least with Sebastian Tounekti scoring just twice in the Premiership in 2025/26.

One man that has been mentioned as a possible option is Utrecht’s Adrian Blake, with Sky Sports reporting that Celtic are among the clubs keeping tabs on the 20-year-old.

Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley are also interested in signing the former Watford starlet, with there a deal to be had for a fee of just £2.5m, as the Englishman only has a year left on his existing deal.

Like Dembele a decade ago, that fee could prove something of a snip based on Blake’s sky-high potential, the youngster potentially set to be a perfect Maeda replacement off the left flank.

The former England U19 international made the move to Holland back in 2023 after making just three senior appearances at Vicarage Road, with his time at Utrecht since proving rather fruitful.

Blake is still in the infancy of his senior career, although he’s shown more than enough to be excited by, having actually even scored against Celtic in the Europa League last term.

In total, he’s now scored nine times in his 63 games for his current side to date, while racking up 11 goals and assists in his first 45 Eredivisie games.

For context, when Dembele made the move to Glasgow at a similar age of just 19, he’d only made 64 appearances himself for Fulham, albeit while boasting a healthier 28 goals and assists in that time.

Gambling on relative inexperience worked wonders for Celtic in that case, and it could do so again with regard to Blake, the latter man fresh from having scored and assisted five Eredivisie goals from just ten starts in 2025/26.

He’s young and raw, but there’s a real diamond there waiting to be polished, with the London-born winger boasting the perfect blend of pace, power and fearlessness, so willing to take on his man at every opportunity.

A product of England’s EFL, like Dembele, Blake appears ready for his next career move, with Parkhead potentially the ideal place for his undoubted potential to be realised.