There has been something of an assumption in certain circles that this summer will see Moussa Dembele part ways with Celtic. The received wisdom has been that two years is long enough for him before he heads back south of the border but my own feeling is that the striker will stay at the club for another season.

At the earliest, I think he would go in the January transfer window.

I don’t think it will even come to the kind of scenario where there is an agreement with the club to help get Celtic through these qualifications games before leaving at the very end of the window.

Last season he just never quite hit the same grove as his inaugural campaign but I think that can be fully attributed to the injuries that he had.

I think it would be fantastic news for Celtic is they had him for another season because he is a player, as I have said repeatedly, that I fully expect to go and play at the very highest level. The issues this season with injury wouldn’t have helped him in getting into a France side that is littered with household names all over the park, but for me it is a matter of time before Dembele is in that kind of company.

I honestly think he is a top-class player and for Celtic to have three excellent strikers next season would really give them a solid foundation heading into the qualifiers.

If they can get a deal for Odsonne Edouard over the line and get him in as well as getting Leigh Griffiths back to full fitness then it gives you the choice of three good forwards as you head into the games that essentially underpin your entire season.

I actually think that the ideal number of strikers if you are wanting to compete on the domestic and European front would be four but the one thing that I would give consideration is the recent emergence of Mikey Johnston. I know he plays wide at the minute but he is a player that ultimately I think could play a more central, attacking role. If that was the case then he would be in a position to supplement the current trio that are there.

Of course, the key to numbers like that is trying to keep everyone happy with game time but that is something that Brendan Rodgers has managed to balance well enough up until this point. In any case, the bottom line for any player and manager is that you are winning games regardless of the personnel on the park.

And there is no doubt that keeping Dembele for another season would be a massive coup for the club. It is not just his all-round ability that marks him out for me but also his temperament – which is where you really get an insight into the top-level players.

People haven’t raved about him this season in the way they did last, but what you would have to say is that when he needs to turn up, he is there. He might have been a bit indifferent in some domestic games but, again, I do think that the type of hamstring injuries he had can be particularly restrictive.

It also meant that for large chunks of the season he was effectively playing catch up.

This summer he will get the chance of a full pre-season under his belt which is vital. It means that he can hit the ground running as soon as the season gets underway and the one thing you really have to applaud about Dembele and his representatives is that you never see them agitating about the club.

The guy has been linked with moves away from Celtic from almost as soon as he walked in the door but you have never heard a strop from him coming through the papers or arguments from him played out in public.

No matter how tight you try to be, when players are unhappy these things do leak out. The very fact that there has never been anything like that augers well for me. His agents are clearly sensible and out to do the right thing by the lad and one more big season at Celtic would do him no harm at all.