He came close on Saturday evening against Leicester, but Moussa Dembele is still waiting for his first goal in a Celtic short.

Not that Patrick Roberts expects too wait too long to see it.

Roberts was a familiar face for Dembele when he became the first signing of Brendan Rodgers’ regime.

The two players were part of the same Fulham side who won the FA Youth Cup in 2014 and neither was shy in front of goal.

“I have to say that I was amazed that Celtic got Moussa him here,” said Roberts. “I say that only because I know how many teams had watched him and wanted him. It is such a massive signing for us and when news came through that he was coming here, I was delighted.

“I have played with Moussa for such a big chunk of my career – more than half of my career has been in the same team as him. I know his game, he knows mine and you can be sure that he will score goals here.

“He will be amazing for Celtic. We all know that it is early days yet and he is just getting used to the club but I honestly think that he will blow people away this season.

"He is an outstanding talent. He is the kind of guy that I think can really make the difference, especially in some of the big games because he is always calm on the ball and he knows how to score, that’s for sure.

“I don’t think it will take him too long to settle here. Once he gets that first goal under his belt it will help him. I know how much he wants to play in the Champions League. We all do.

"Hopefully we can do the job and get us through these qualifiers, although I think we all appreciate how hard they are.”

Dembele featured in Saturday’s International Challenge Cup against the newly-crowned Barclays Premier League champions and had one acrobatic bicycle kick that almost had his name on the scoresheet.

However, while the game against Leicester was a decent contest – and one settled after James Forrest missed the only penalty from 12 in the shoot-out – it was always going to be a precursor for what is to come this week.

Celtic board the plane this afternoon for Kazakhstan where an Astana side who have lost just three home games in their last 59 await.

Buoyed by their presence in the group stages of the Champions League last term, Astana will be a formidable test for Celtic.

Roberts was man of the match last week when the embarrassing first-leg against Lincoln Red Imps was somewhat rectified with a more assured display against the Gibraltar lightweights, but this week the bar is raised considerably now.

Three years ago Neil Lennon’s side played Shakhter Karagandy on the same pitch they will be on this Wednesday.

It will be another plastic surface in sweltering temperatures, but Roberts believes that Celtic will be ready for the encounter.

“The club are very professional and we will do all the right things to be prepared. We know the importance of being hydrated and sleeping at the right times and the fact we are going out a few days early will hopefully mean that there isn’t any real issue with tiredness.

“The plastic pitch is never ideal but there isn’t anything that we can’t do about it. We have to get on with it and hopefully try to get a positive results. If we can do that then I think we would fancy our chances in Glasgow, but just now it is about making sure we focus completely on this game.”

Roberts didn’t play in the first leg game against Lincoln Red Imps because of the surface and it remains to be seen whether he will feature against Astana, for the same reasons.

The winger chose to stay in Glasgow this summer rather than board the plane with the England under-19 squad to the European Championships in Germany because he wanted to help the club get into the group stages of the Champions League.

And he remains convinced it was the right thing to do.

“I played here the other night in front of nearly 60,000 people,” he said. “I think we all agree that is the best preparation you can get if you want to make it to the top level.

"It is playing in crucial games and under real pressure that brings out the best in you as a player and helps you to get better.

“I knew all along that I wanted to play in these games. Like so many players, it has been a dream of mine to play Champions League football. It is the biggest club competition in the world with the best players and the best teams. I want to be involved in it this season with Celtic, and hopefully we can do that.”

Sam Allardyce was confirmed this week as the new England manager and Roberts is well aware that playing on a European platform will do his own burgeoning reputation no harm at all.

“That is the ultimate ambition for me but right now it is just about Celtic,” said the winger. “Celtic and the Champions League.”

He’ll have a better idea of where he stands on that front come Wednesday night.