Wednesday 26 July 2017 17:26, UK
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has denied reports linking striker Moussa Dembele with a summer move away from Celtic Park.
Sky Sports News reported on Monday that Marseille had held talks with Celtic over the potential transfer of the 21-year old striker, with the Scottish champions asking for a fee in the region of £20m.
However, Rodgers has cooled such speculation and insists Dembele must first develop as a player.
"There's nothing in it from our perspective. He's a boy that's very calm. And like I said, a young player still developing," Rodgers said when speaking before Celtic's Champions League qualifying game against Rosenborg on Wednesday night.
"He [Moussa] was part of the plan coming in here. I felt if he progressed how we thought he'd progress and if he wanted to move at any time, it was going to be after the second year.
"I think there'll be a natural solution to it all. I think there'll be something at some point in his career here where there's an offer that, for both parties, is a sensible one.
"But it's certainly nowhere near that for us at this moment in time."
Dembele, who scored 32 goals for Celtic during their Scottish Premiership-winning campaign last season, was an absentee from the club's pre-match training session this morning, adding further speculation over his future.
But Rodgers says his absence was injury-related, which makes him a doubt for tomorrow night's Champions League tie.
"He could be (a doubt) so we could be without him and Leigh [Griffiths] so we need to find a way," Rodgers added.
"We do what we always do, we will try to find a solution within the team to make it work."
