Galatasaray are reported to have given up hope of landing Moussa Dembele this month amid whispers he is set to join Aston Villa.
Dembele's career has fallen by the wayside amid dwindling form for Lyon but he's a proven goalscorer with 120 for Celtic and Lyon in just 253 games across the two clubs. This season looks set to be only his second since joining Celtic all the way back in 2016 that he has failed to hit 20 goals - the other was the abridged Covid 2020/21 campaign - and at just 26, there is a bargain to be had with his contract set to expire in six months.
Celtic would net 10 per cent of any fee Lyon can bank and there was once a time that clause promised a huge Parkhead payday. But as his contract dwindles, there hasn't been much in the away of concrete interest. Lyon are open to offers with Alexandre Lacazette now the main striker but most of the rumoured interest has come from Turkey, with clubs in the big European leagues seemingly reluctant.
Galatasaray and Besiktas have both been linked but curiously a new report in Turkey suggests he WILL be on the move to England after all. They say Galatasaray have given up with Aston Villa "agreeing a deal" to sign him - but it is unclear where exactly that information is coming from as they credit elusive "reports in the British press."
Unai Emery is believed to be in the market for a new striker after taking over from Steven Gerrard. Goals have dried up for Ollie Watkins and while Danny Ings has been in amongst it lately, he has been linked with Everton and could move on if Villa sign another frontman.
Dembele meanwhile would likely be open to trying his hand in Premier League for the first time after links with Manchester United failed to materialise into a move back when he was firing in the goals for fun in 2019/20. It's unclear how much he would cost Villa however it would only be a small fraction of the £50million he was being mooted for a few years ago.
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