He is still in the infancy of both his Celtic career and his footballing life as a whole, but there is already an acceptance that Moussa Dembele is a player destined for bigger things.

And while Brendan Rodgers will look to hold onto the player for as long as he possibly can, his and Celtic’s resolve will be tested as soon as January with offers expected for the 20-year-old striker.

Rodgers has told Dembele – whom he still believes has aspects of his game that needed honed – to stay in Glasgow for at least two seasons.

But whenever the time comes when the French under-21 internationalist decides it is time move on, Rodgers will not be accepting anything other than top dollar for the player.

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There has been a traditional view that those plying their trade in Scotland command a far smaller fee than if they were playing their football elsewhere. It is not a theory that Rodgers buys into it.

“Absolutely because it’s about the potential,” said the Celtic manager. “The kid still needs time,” he said. “I think everyone wants to get him in and then sell him off. If he leaves here at whatever point that will be it will be for a record transfer fee there is no question about that.

“I have worked with players who have gone for a lot of money. Raheem Sterling went for £49 million and he was a winger. Luis [Suarez] went for the money that he went for. He was an international player and after two years he left a world-class player. So this kid has the potential in value.

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“Celtic won’t have to worry about players going for £10 million any more.”

The big hitters have all watched Dembele with Scott Sinclair insisting this week that the likes of Real Madrid are a viable proposition for the striker.

Such clubs, along with the major clubs in the English Premier League, are in a position to pay full market value for the striker – and Rodgers will never allow the player to be sold for anything less.

“They’re a premium at those clubs as well,” he said. “I sensed it when I was at Liverpool. Trying to get a player that might be worth £10m somewhere else becomes £20m when you’re at that type of club.”

There is always a danger with young players that their heads can be turned with obvious interest from various top level clubs.

Rodgers, though, believes Dembele is well equipped to stay grounded and continue his fine early season form that has already seen his net 16 goals for Celtic.

“He’s a huge talent, we know that,” said the Celtic manager. “There’s a lot of work for him still to do to improve. His people know that, he knows that and that’s the beauty of him. He’s a very mature kid. He wants to learn.

“He wants to be the best he can be. Where he is in four years’ time, we’ll have to wait and see, but at this moment in time, his best place - as he has seen himself - is here, learning and developing and being coached and being prepared if he moves on later.”

While Rodgers believes that Dembele is capable of holding his own at the top level – he has compared him to Didier Drogba in the past – he is nevertheless of the opinion that there are rough edges to the striker’s game that can be eliminated with game time at Celtic.

Rodgers watched his young striker score twice earlier this week as the French under-21 side beat England 3-2 and while his first reaction was to applaud the contribution of the forward – and take on the headache of just who the free-kicker taker should be at Celtic – he still saw aspects to Dembele’s game that can get better.

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“The ambition is also for the player to make him be the best he can be,” said Rodgers. “When I was looking at his performance, it was a great run and finish, one of the ones that really impressed me.

“You talk about his movement. The one where the England back four were on the edge of the box and he makes a great little come short and spin. He gets in behind and chests it and swivels on it. He should maybe get his finish on it.

“That is movements that we’ve talked about with him. We have seen Suarez do it, when he scored against us for Barcelona, that little movement on the edge of the box where he takes it deep in the box. He chested it, swivelled and finished it.

“So my initial reaction is about performance. Is he improving? Can he work harder? Can he press better?

“Now obviously we have got a challenge because he has scored a free-kick. So now we’ve got to think who is going to take the free-kicks. He could have had four goals.”