Full name Karamoko Kader Dembele Playing position 2013– Celtic | Place of birth London, England Years Team Nationality Ivorian, Scottish | |
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Date of birth (2003-02-22) 22 February 2003 (age 14) Current team Celtic Glasgow U17 (Midfielder) Similar Moussa Dembélé, Jack Aitchison, Ousmane Dembélé, Islam Feruz, Freddy Adu | ||
Karamoko Kader Dembele (born 22 February 2003) is a footballer who plays as a winger for Celtic and has been called up to represent both England and Scotland at youth level. He attracted media attention in October 2016 when he made his debut for Celtic's under-20 development team at the age of 13.
Contents
- Karamoko dembele celtic fc academy cup player of tournament
- Early life
- Club career
- International career
- References
Karamoko dembele celtic fc academy cup player of tournament
Early life
He was born in 2003 in Lambeth, South London. His parents were born in Ivory Coast. His family moved north to Scotland, to Govan in Glasgow, when he was five years old. Dembele, or "Kaddy" as he is known, attended St Constantine’s Primary School in Drumoyne.
Club career
Dembele started playing football for Park Villa boys club at the age of five and was recognised as a prodigy from a young age. He joined Celtic aged 10 in 2013. In July 2016, Dembele was named as player of the tournament when representing Celtic U15 at the St Kevin's Boys Academy Cup. Soon after his appointment as Celtic head coach, Brendan Rodgers invited Dembele to participate in a light technical training session with the first team squad.
On 3 October 2016, Dembele gained widespread media attention after making his debut for Celtic's U20 side aged 13 playing with and against players who were up to seven age groups above him. He was named on the bench because several regular starters were away playing for Scotland’s Under-19 team and was brought in during the 81st minute, replacing the youngest first-team player in Celtic’s history, the 16-year-old Jack Aitchison. A match report on the official Celtic website stated that "the diminutive playmaker didn’t look out of place and played his part in the closing stages." The response to Dembele's U20 debut included concern about the physical and mental impact of such a young player being fast tracked through the developmental ranks.
International career
Dembele is eligible to represent Scotland, England or the Ivory Coast internationally. On 19 October 2016, he was called up to the Scotland national under-16 football team for the 2016 Victory Shield. He made his debut for the Scotland U16s on 1 November, coming on as a second half substitute during a 2–2 draw against Wales. Coach Brian McLaughlin commented, "He [Dembele] gave us a little bit of energy. He's very, very brave on the ball". Dembele made a further appearance a few days later in a 3–0 defeat against the Republic of Ireland, again coming on as a second-half substitute. However, prior to participating in the Victory Shield, Dembele traveled south in October 2016 to train with England under-15s at St George's Park. On 18 November 2016, Dembele confirmed his intention to join up with the England U15s ahead of a match against Turkey that December. On 17 December 2016, Dembele came off the bench against Turkey to make his England debut and assisted a goal in a 5–2 victory.
On 16 February, Dembele made his first start for England U15 in a match against Belgium. Dembele also continued to represent Scotland, accepting a call up to their U16 squad for a UEFA development tournament the same month.