Karamoko Dembele’s former coach has revealed that Rangers were interested in the Celtic wonderkid.

Just 13, the youngster grabbed headlines when he made his debut for the Celtic Under-20s earlier this week against Hearts at Cappielow and made the world take notice of him.




Born in the Ivory Coast, Dembele’s football education began in Glasgow and he was formerly associated with Park Villa football development with whom Celtic have an understanding.

David Feeney, who worked with Dembele for four years at Park Villa, revealed that while the youngster was associated with Celtic, Rangers took an interest in him and also saw Dembele in action in a friendly.
 


He told the Daily Record: "Even though he was tied with Celtic and ourselves and Rangers knew that, they still wanted to see him for themselves.  

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"We were able to get a match at Murray Park and the Rangers staff were astounded with what he was able to do. They were trying to see how good he was.

"The only reason we got that friendly was because we had a contact at Ibrox.”

However, he feels Rangers have always been apathetic towards youngsters at Park Villa and that seemed to have played a role in them missing out on the prodigious Dembele.

Feeney added: "Rangers are disappointing. They could help us so much because they’re on our doorstep but they don't seem to bother.

"Despite Rangers being so near us, only two boys have gone to them. They never seem interested in our players.

"Queen's Park, Hearts, Motherwell and Celtic are always looking at our boys, but Rangers seem to be different, they just didn't seem to be keen on our players."

Still just 13, Dembele is not allowed to sign a professional contract until he turns 16, and the Bhoys may have a fight on their hands to keep hold of him.