Karamoko Dembele, Kaddy, as he is better known has been well within my sights for a long time.

The kid plays in the same Celtic under-14 team as my grandson, Vincent, so I have been watching Kaddy for the last couple of years.

And I do have to say that the youngster is something special.

These days YouTube can give these players a platform before they have laced up their boots but in the flesh he really is a phenomenal talent.

The thing with any 13-year-old, though, when you look at them is that you just don’t want to get too ahead of yourself. All that I would say is that this is lad of exceptional talent and if he keeps a level-head, listens to what the club are telling him and develops the way he should then he is a guy that you can expect to see debut in the first-team when he is still very young.

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I know that Brendan Rodgers went up to St Ninian’s High school in Kirkintilloch, where the lads are all based during the day as they combine study with football, to speak to them all, to have a look around and to get a feel for the young players who will soon be pushing for professional contracts.

He is well aware of Kaddy and what he can do.

Even as a really young kid a few seasons back when I first saw him play, he stood out.

He has a natural balance about him but he is like a throw-back too. He is an old-fashioned dribbler and dare I say it – I am never one for the comparisons – but there is a touch of the Jimmy Johnstone’s about him with the way he moves with the ball at his feet, that low centre of gravity.

Even at this age you can see it. Few people get the ball off him.

I also like the fact that he plays with a smile on his face. There were inevitable comparisons made to Islam Feruz, but to me Dembele is a far more grounded lad from a family who also keep his feet on the ground.

And I know there has been some eyebrows raised about the way he was thrust into the spotlight when he was given the last couple of minutes in the development squad game the other night but I don’t think that it is something that has done any harm.

In many ways, it compliments the current feelgood factor at the club. Rodgers has got the club moving in the direction that everyone wants to see, he has got Celtic playing Champions League football with a vibrant, attacking ethos and the players that have arrived at the club this summer have enhanced the team.

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So getting a glimpse of a young talent that is lurking in the underbelly of the club is no bad thing. The Celtic supporters should be excited at this prospect but he has the potential to come in and be a really cracking player.

And if you were to ask me if he is in good hands then I can only say that I think Chris McCary, Celtic’s Head of Youth, is the guy to keep Kaddy with his feet firmly on the ground.

He still looks like a wee Subbuteo player so there is growing physically and mentally still to come. But Celtic’s structure at this age group is tailored to allowing these boys to play football while also being educated – and the youngster will be left knowing just how much he still has to do.

But it is inarguable that he is a kid who, if he continues to develop along the same lines, can make it to first team level.

Celtic’s remit at this age group is to produce players who are capable of playing Champions League football – and they have had a decent success rate over the years with guys like Stephen McManus, Aiden McGeady, Shaun Maloney, John Kennedy, James Forrest and, of course, Kieran Tierney all coming through.

So I do think that it is a good place for the youngster to learn his trade and be brought through the ranks. He got a few minutes the other night and the reaction made for a pretty massive story.

You have to monitor that, you have to be aware of the pitfalls with any young player, but Celtic as a club know what is required to move from that level to first-team football.

This is a lad who is capable of doing just that and at Celtic I think he has the right people round about him to show him the way.

Interestingly enough, having the spotlight turned on him this week will give everyone an indication of just how he copes with that.