Brendan Rodgers believes that Moussa Dembele is raising the bar for Celtic as he puts the club firmly on the European map.

The 20-year-old French striker has become one of the most sought after young players given the manner in which he has started this season, both domestically and internationally.

Dembele has scored 16 goals for Celtic, including goals at Champions League level against Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach, as well as scoring for the French under-21 side.

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Celtic paid just 500k for the striker this summer and Rodgers believes the profile of the club has been elevated thanks to the player’s performance levels and the interest he has aroused.

“The price tag will be whatever. It is not for me to speculate about that. But the kid is clearly one of the great potential strikers in the world. It is great recognition for the club,” said Rodgers.

“We all understand that he’s a talent and the talent that he is. When I was watching the France game and they were talking about him in the game in the commentary, what was great I felt was for Scottish football you have a player who is achieving all this up here in a league that is supposedly the backwater of football.

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“This is a kid who has come to here, is developing, improving, because he wants to be here and because he sees it’s the best for his learning. When they’re talking through his games this year and talking about scoring hat-tricks in the derby game and scoring League Cup semi-final winners and scoring two goals in the Champions League and in an important game against Borussia Moenchengladbach, there are not many other players on that field are doing that.”

And Rodgers believes that when the time does come for Dembele to move on from Celtic that it will be to a top European club.

Citing the example of Victor Wanyama who moved to Southampton before going to Tottenham this summer, Rodgers expects that Dembele will not need the stepping stone of a mid-level club.

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“Look at Wanyama for example,” said Rodgers. “People were unsure. He goes to Southampton, a mid-table Premier League team. He was a really good player when he was here. He goes to Southampton then he jumps to Tottenham. They don’t need that springboard anymore.

“With all due respect, I’ve worked with big players, I know the value of big players, I know the value of young players. If they’re working here, they’re in the best environment they could be in.

“We might not have the Premier League propaganda and the money that goes with that, but they’re still top players. If he leaves here, he can go to the big level. So there’s a value and a market for that.”