Last week, Moussa Dembele made headlines with his performance against Manchester City in the Champions League, but this week, it's Celtic’s 'other Dembele', 13-year-old Karamoko, in the spotlight. Though he could easily be mistaken for a ball boy with his shorts nearly covering his legs, the teenaged Karamoko Dembele replaced 16-year-old Jack Aitchison in the 81st minute of Celtic’s U-20 match with Hearts to make his Celtic debut at that age level.
Going into the match, fans of Celtic’s developmental team were surprised to even see Dembele listed on the roster, and no one expected the 13-year-old to debut for a team where many of his teammates tower over six feet. But, as the saying goes, “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough.”
After being named Celtic's Academy Cup Player of the Tournament last month by tearing opposition teams apart, including Barcelona and Lyon youth sides, Karamoko continues to exceed expectations after subbing on during his first ever match with the U-20 side.
Watch as Dembele goes up against the Barcelona and Lyon defenses last month:
Unlike most “wunderkinds”, Dembele doesn’t just have an impressive array of moves, the 13-year-old shows a true understanding of the game. He creates, distributes, scores when necessary and can even hit free kicks. Fittingly, he wears the number 10 and plays behind the strikers. He basically gifts them goals whenever he pleases.
Although Moussa Dembele is the current Celtic fan favorite, it might not be long before Karamoko starts to leave his mark with the first team. Celtic fans might also soon start to worry as the Scottish champions have been unable to keep their talent in recent years.
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