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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Graeme Young

Moussa Dembele and the YouTube obsession that has Celtic icon on verge of Champions League immortality

Lyon striker Moussa Dembele studied football greats Gabriel Batistuta and and Marco Van Basten continuously in his pursuit of striking perfection.

The former Celtic hero is 90 minutes away from the Champions League Final after his deadly double against Manchester City set up a showdown with Bayern Munich.

And now the Daily Mail have lifted the lid on what makes the 24-year-old tick as his obsession with striking legends old and new are being used on his quest for greatness.

Dembele would mimic the movements of Van Basten and Batistuta after spending hours watching them on YouTube during his Fulham days and now uses modern day legends Luis Suarez and Robert Lewandowski as inspiration.

And the Hoops hero now has the chance to compete against Bayern Munich's Polish goal machine as both sides are set to do battle for the right to meet Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.

Dembele was left gutted after being left on the bench against City but his epic 15-minute cameo has only added to the £60m-rated star's reputation.

The likes of Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal remain long-term admirers of a player who has scored 24 goals in all competitions this season.

And the France U21 star will be expecting a different welcome from the Premier League big-hitters the next time he sits down for transfer discussions.

Brendan Rodgers with Moussa Dembele at training (SNS Group)

The Mail state Spurs chief Daniel Levy was dressed in a hoodie and tracksuit bottoms during discussions over a switch to North London back in 2016.

That deal collapsed and Brendan Rodgers convinced him on a switch to Glasgow that summer and the rest is history.

Dembele and his advisors have carefully plotted his career as they refuse to be rushed over their big move and the man of the moment now has the chance to showcase his abilities on the grandest stage.

And that's good news for his former team Celtic who will hope a transfer bidding war takes place due to their 10 per cent sell-on fee.

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