Borussia Dortmund Make Multiple Enquiries for Celtic Star as Lucien Favre Eyes First Signing

Borussia Dortmund have made several enquiries over the availability of Celtic forward Moussa Dembele in the space of just a few days. The German giants are eager to get their man and have made the intentions clear to his current club.

Celtic have no intention of letting their star man go, the 21-year-old is under contract until 2020 so the Scottish champions plan to dig in their heels over the valuation.

Mark Runnacles/GettyImages

Dortmund are unlikely to be perturbed by a high transfer fee having recouped an estimated €240m on sales of players last season, but won’t want to be held to ransom over the deal.

Chelsea forward Michy Batshuayi was brought in on loan to replace the Gabon international and impressed but Dortmund are eager to add more firepower for the coming campaign after a disappointing fourth-place finish last year.

According to Foot Mercato, Celtic’s Dembele is the player they have identified as their primary transfer target. The French Under-21 international has 48 goals in 88 appearances for the Scottish side.

Dembele’s performances have attracted interest since he first broke into the Celtic first team and other clubs are believed to be tracking his progress. Dortmund are the current frontrunners for his signature though as they believe he can convert his Scottish Premier League form to the Bundesliga.

Mark Runnacles/GettyImages

The German side lost key forwards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Arsenal and Ousmane Dembele to Barcelona last season. Dortmund struggled after the loss of the duo, particularly Aubameyang, who remained the club's top scorer for the season despite leaving in January.