Karamoko Dembele: Celtic’s wonderkid ‘nutmegged midwife’, could do 100 kick-ups at five years old and had coaches fighting over him
CELTIC wonderkid Karamoko Dembele is so good he could do 100 keepy-uppies when he was just FIVE.
Dembele is the talk of football after making his debut for the Scottish giants’ Under-20 team on Monday — aged just 13.
Within an hour of his nine-minute cameo in the 3-1 win over Hearts, the pint-sized midfielder was trending on Twitter next to American TV star Kim Kardashian.
And SunSport can reveal how:
- Coaches used to FIGHT each other to be with his team
- He was ORDERED to stop “taking the p***” out of opponents
- Rangers MISSED him even though he grew up just a mile from Ibrox
David Feeney, the Scottish coach who discovered the whizkid, declared: “I’m convinced when he was born he came out with a ball at his feet and nutmegged the midwife!”
The tiny London-born youngster turned up at Feeney’s Govan-based Park Villa Boys Club for a training session one night in 2008.
He was just five and his boots were too big for him.
But Feeney recalled: “From the minute I saw him, he was unbelievable. He was small but had no fear. It all came so easy to him.
“He’d be in a group with kids who couldn’t control the ball without using their hands. At the same time, Karamoko would rattle off 100 keepy-uppies.
“I watched him keep the ball up, volley it miles up before killing it stone dead as it fell out the sky.
“The things he could do with a ball, even then, were incredible. The coaches would fight to get on the same team as him.
“From an early age, there was a lot of talk about him.
“We’d have crowds of 40 for our games and most just wanted to watch Karamoko.
“We just tried to teach him good habits — when to dribble, when not to.
“We also had to tell him to stop nutmegging people all the time because he was taking the p*** a bit!
“Karamoko’s fearless and playing for Celtic U-20s against players seven years older would not have fazed him in the slightest. Nothing he achieves in the game would shock me.”
RELATED STORIES:
Europe’s top clubs — including Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Barcelona and Bayern Munich — are now all targeting him.
Newcastle were among several English clubs to make a play for Dembele when he was just six.
But Celtic were regulars at Park Villa’s games and he chose to sign for them, despite growing up with his Ivory Coast family just a mile from Ibrox.
Feeney added: “Rangers never bothered with him, even though he was living on their doorstep.”
Now part of Celtic’s performance academy at St Ninian’s High School in Glasgow, Dembele has been fast-tracked through the age groups.
A serial winner of Player of the Tournament awards across Europe, his YouTube showreels are an internet sensation.
Feeney added: “Karamoko had opportunities to sign for any club he wanted but Celtic made a big effort — we always felt it was the best club for him.”
Even though he is eligible to play for England, the Scottish FA are already planning to fast-track Dembele for Scotland by selecting him for next month’s Under-16s Victory Shield games against Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Wales.
Scotland assistant boss Mark McGhee admitted: “I’ve not seen him but I’ve heard our youth people talking about him. He’s supposed to be outstanding.
“I gave Robbie Keane his debut at 16, Emile Heskey his at 16. If they’re good enough, it doesn’t matter, they’re old enough.”