Reports: Manchester United to make stunning €57 million bid for prolific striker

What's the story?

Oh, Manchester United.

Despite possessing Romelu Lukaku, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford... and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Jose Mourinho is not a happy man - at least if the rumour mill over at the Guardian (who get it via L'Equipe) is to be believed.

In pursuit of this elusive happiness, then, the Portuguese manager is all set to turn his head north and throw some money - 50 million quid ( or €57 million) worth to be exact - at Glasgow Celtic to convince them to part ways with their prolific striker... and seeing as how the young Frenchman wants to move up to a bigger stage, this might just be on the cards!

In case you didn't know

Dembele, just 21, was moulded by the youth academies of Paris Saint-Germain and Fulham and made his senior debut for the Cottagers aged just 17 - he scored 19 goals in 64 games for them before moving to Celtic with whom he has blossomed into a deadly striker.

Last season, he banged in 32 goals in just 49 games and this season he already has 7 in 14.

The heart of the matter

Dembele was wanted by Arsenal and Chelsea amongst a host of Premier League clubs this past summer, but he elected to stay on at Celtic and use the regular first-team football he is getting there to hone his skills. This has also allowed the Glasgewians to amp up his asking price - resigned as they are to losing him at some stage or the other - and thus the €50 million price tag.

Video

For those who haven't seen the electric Frenchman in action...

... lad can play, eh?

Author's take

Dembele's pace and power make him one of the most exciting talents in world football today - and as he showed by bagging a goal in the opening minute against Paris Saint-Germain (away) he isn't overawed by the big stage.

With teams looking to invest more and more in youth, and invest big at that, United seem to just be following the trend.