A new Dembele signs on at Celtic as Brendan Rodgers ‘excited’ by one arrival’s instant impact

There’s another Dembele brother on the rise at Celtic as 16-year-old Hassan has signed professional terms – much to the delight of his two older siblings.

Karamoko Dembele was the hottest prospect in the Parkhead academy for years but ultimately had to leave the club before he could really start to deliver on his potential.

The eldest brother Siriki meanwhile, was a later bloomer – forging his own path down south since leaving the Ayr United academy as a 20-year-old before being linked with Celtic in 2022 after some stunning form with Peterborough.

Now it’s 16-year-old Hassan’s turn to make his name at Parkhead. He announced on Instagram last night that he’d signed a professional deal and both of his older brothers were in the comments to celebrate.

It’s likely to be a while before the teenager is anywhere near Rodgers’ first team – but that’s certainly not the case for new £1.7m signing Benjamin Nygren.

He didn’t feature in last night’s 2-1 win over Cork but is expected to against Sporting CP next week and Rodgers is ‘excited’ about what the winger has to offer.

He said: “I’m really excited by him (Nygren), he’s a forward thinking player, he’s got good legs, gets about the pitch and he’s showed up well since he’s come in.”

Rodgers also hinted there is ‘a lot’ of work left to be done in the transfer market – particularly at the top end of the pitch – after the pre-season victory.

A deal is reportedly well along the road for Isak Jansson while Shin Yamada and Michel-Ange Balikwisha are also in the pipeline.

Things are expected to really ramp up once Nicolas Kuhn seals his long awaited £17m move to Serie A with Como.

And while Rodgers was keeping his cards close to his chest, he did admit frontline reinforcements are required.

“There is lot of work going on in the background and things that are what we’re hoping to achieve over the coming weeks.

“We definitely need that there, especially at the top end of the pitch. But no, a lot of work going on but I can’t confirm that there’s anything there at this moment.

“Those international boys, they’ve now got the run-in, so it will be their first action at the weekend.”

Meanwhile Hoops youngster Jude Bonner is set to sign for Ayr United on a season long loan deal.

The highly-rated 19-year-old was handed a debut last season but will be sent out to get game time under Somerset Park boss Scott Brown.