Mark Wilson believes Karamoko Dembele struggled to break into the first team set-up at Celtic due to the huge spotlight and expectation put on his shoulders from a young age.
The 19-year-old burst onto the scene from a very young age after starring for the Celtic reserve side. However, he only managed ten top team appearances at Parkhead. The winger - who has represented both England and Scotland at youth level - had his first season under Ange Postecoglou disrupted by injury and he hardly appeared on the senior scene as Premiership glory was won after recapturing the title from Rangers.
With his contract up he has now moved on to France with Ligue 1 outfit Stade Brestois 29 after putting pen to paper on a four-year deal. His decision to make the switch was mainly down to 'the project' presented to him as his next adventure in his career begins.
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Ex-Hoops man Wilson knows Dembele is a huge talent and will no doubt have something to prove as he wished him all the best with his next step. He hopes he can go away and play many years as he questioned just how he was supposed to deal with the big pressure on his shoulders since way back in 2013.
Speaking on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard, he said: "He’s got probably something to prove.
"He will be desperate to show that he is the player everybody thought he could be.
"So it could be just the whole spotlight on him in this country. I mean, how many kids can we say that about in Scotland? Well, it’s incredibly difficult.
"I wish we would stop putting so much pressure on our young players who come through because it does hinder them. There’s no doubt about it.
"You know, we should let them go and play, dip in and out the team when it suits. And there was so many questions.
"Why is he not starting in the first team?
"He obviously wasn’t quite ready and even when he did play, the fans seen him coming on, they would be expecting too much again.
"There’s no doubt he’s got talent. And I wish him all the best. I hope he goes away and I hope he plays for a number of years.
"I mean, you get it in England. Remember Wayne Rooney came through from 16, this kid is a wonderkid and he proved he was. This goes back a long, long way.
"I mean, this goes back - since 2013 this kid has had this pressure. How do you deal with that?"
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