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13-year-old Celtic prodigy Karamoko Dembele called up to Scotland U16s team

Fans of the Scottish national side have not had much to cheer about in recent months, after their...



13-year-old Celtic prodigy Kar...
Soccer

13-year-old Celtic prodigy Karamoko Dembele called up to Scotland U16s team

Fans of the Scottish national side have not had much to cheer about in recent months, after their side failed to qualify for the Euros despite a great start to qualification.

That slump has continued into this campaign, with a lot of pressure now being put on Gordon Strachan to turn things around after they emerged with just one point from the games against Lithuania and Slovakia.

However, there may be one bright spark for supporters to latch on to, as their "wonderkid" Karamoko Dembele has already been called up for international duty with the Scotland U16s...at just 13-years-old.

Dembele first garnered media attention after his performances at an underage tournament in Dublin, which featured Barcelona and St. Kevin's Boys, two teams that have their own strong record of developing young talent.

Dembele has shot up through the ranks at the club, and even featured for Celtic's U20s a few weeks ago. However, manager Brendan Rodgers has stated that he wants to shield the starlet from the pressure of so much media attention, and will be keeping his progress under wraps.

The move from the SFA to call him up at such a young age comes, in part, to try and make sure that Dembele chooses to represent Scotland at senior level down the road, given that he also qualifies for Côte d'Ivoire and England, having been born in London. 

Dembele will play for Scotland's U16s in the Victory Shield, an annual competition that also features youth teams from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales. This year it takes place at the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, where they may well be a little bit of extra interest than normal with Dembele in attendance. 

Via ESPN

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