Celtic wonderkid Karamoko Dembele earns surprise Scotland call-up for Victory Shield clashes in Edinburgh

 

• Karamoko Dembele has received call to play for Scotland in Victory Shield
• 13-year-old has been rewarded for his astonishing rise through the ranks
• Dembele was handed a cameo for Celtic’s development squad this month
• Scotland are determined to pip Ivory Coast for the wonderkid’s services

Celtic boy wonder Karamoko Dembele looks set to write the latest chapter of his meteoric rise after receiving a Scotland call-up for the Victory Shield clashes at the end of his month in Edinburgh.

Sportsmail revealed that England were plotting a move to try and lure the highly-rated youngster into their set-up.

But Dembele is being fast-tracked by SFA chiefs to keep him away from the clutches of Ivory Coast, the birthplace of his family, and he is set for his first taste of international football in the youngest Scotland age-group level.

The 13-year-old wonderkid made headlines around the world after his cameo appearance for Celtic’s development team earlier this month, leading to the London-born forward becoming the latest starlet to be dubbed ‘the next Messi’.

Ivory Coast chiefs have made no secret of their desires for Dembele to represent their country, but the highly-rated Hoops teenager is now set to form an integral part of the Scotland schoolboys’ squad for this year’s Victory Shield.

England no longer provide a side, but Dembele is in line to play in fixtures against Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Wales, who have won the last two competitions, at the new state of the art Oriam complex in Edinburgh.

Through playing for the Tartan Teens, Scotland are hoping with Dembele to avoid a repeat of the scenario that saw them miss out on Aiden McGeady and James McCarthy, who both chose to play for the Republic of Ireland despite being born and raised in Scotland.

It remains to be seen if Dembele commits his international future to his adopted country, with the player attending Celtic’s own Performance School-style set-up at St Ninians.

Barcelona and Bayern Munich have already expressed an interest in luring the child prodigy onto foreign soil, with Celtic set to face a stiff battle to keep hold of the boy with dazzling tricks.

Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers has said he will take a hands-on role in the the development of the huge prospect – after the youngster was thrown into the Celtic Under 20s without the manager being consulted a fortnight ago.

Dembele’s debut for the development squad — in a competition where over-age players are allowed — prompted an outbreak of viral videos and grabbed the attention of some of the biggest names in world football.

Rodgers said fears over the safety of Dembele had persuaded him to take charge of key decisions on player who has already trained with the first team.

The former Liverpool manager said: ‘I didn’t know he was playing. Would I have sanctioned it? That’s not the point. The point is he’s played. You just have to be very careful.’