ALLY McCOIST has claimed Moussa Dembele is never worth the £30m-plus transfer fee Celtic have put on his head.
The Rangers goalscoring legend, however, is a huge fan of the 20-year-old Frenchman who on Sunday will be looking to score in his fourth successive Glasgow derby match; he has five goals from his first three games in the fixture.
Celtic are prepared for bids to come in from top English clubs this summer and have put the message out that their prize asset will only be sold if their asking price is met, something they are confident of achieving.
But McCoist, who scored 335 goals for Rangers, isn’t sure the club he enjoyed playing against the most will receive what they want if Dembele does move on.
“Moussa Dembele isn’t a £30 million or £40 million player and if Peter Lawwell gets that then good on him,” said the former Rangers manager. “There’s a man doing his job very well!
“He might develop into a player of that value. I like him a lot, he can finish. He’s got a good physical presence and movement. But realistically he’s not £30 million, £40 million.
“He’s certainly the most valuable player in the country. He’s young and will naturally progress. He’ll take part in the game more. He’s very much a finisher and concentrates on his finishing which is good but other parts of his game will develop.
“Celtic will certainly cash in on him, there’s no doubt about that, but I’m not in the £30 million or £40 million brigade if you can spare me that.”
McCoist became an Old Firm specialist with 22 goals against Celtic, including one within a minute of his debut, and Dembele has taken to the fixture as well.
“It says a lot about his mentality that he’s scored in every Old Firm game,” said McCoist. “It’s difficult to maintain that level of quality of finishing regardless of the opposition.
“If you look at his goals - particularly in Old Firm games - they’ve all been different. Headers from corners, turning Philippe Senderos at Parkhead. He’s not a one trick pony and I like that about him.”
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