Celtic struck gold when they sold the ace, who is now worth millions less, for £20 million.

Matt O’Riley completed his departure from Parkhead during the summer transfer window.

costing Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers one of his best players.

The Denmark international was reportedly signed by Premier League team

Brighton & Hove Albion for a Scottish transfer record sum of more than £25 million.

Following his 18 goals and 13 assists in the Scottish Premiership in the 2023-2024 season,

O’Riley left the club due to interest from other teams.

Moussa Dembele was one guy Rogers hit gold with during his first stint at the club.

Rodgers has lost a number of elite players at Parkhead.

After joining from Fulham for an undisclosed compensation fee in 2016,

team Lyon pounced to recruit the center-forward from the Hoops for an alleged amount

of £20 million in the summer of 2018.

Dembele had an incredible first season as a member of the Glasgow team,

kicking off his career. In 49 games, he amassed an impressive 32 goals and nine assists for Rodgers.

Even yet, he did see a decline in performance in his second season at Paradise,

finishing with just 17 goals and 9 assists in 39 games across all competitions.

The French striker then started the 2018-19 season with three goals in six games

before Lyon signed him for an incredible £20 million.

The 28-year-old striker’s market value is now millions less than the sum the Scottish giants

paid to recruit him, so that Celtic transaction has turned out to be a real eye-opener.

As of this writing (September 25, 2024), Transfermarkt values Dembele at €12 million (£10 million).

This indicates that after leaving Parkhead, his worth has decreased by half.

This is in spite of the fact that in 172 games in all competitions,

he managed to record 70 goals and 19 assists for Lyon in all competitions,

including three seasons in which he scored at least 15 goals in the league.

This demonstrates that although the center-forward scored goals consistently for several seasons,

the French were never able to acquire more for him than the £20 million they paid for him in 2018.

Despite this, the center-forward did provide enough talent for the team.

Dembele struggled in his last season at Lyon, managing just three goals in 23 games

in the 2022-2023 league before moving on a free transfer to Al-Ettifaq in the summer of 2023.

With his poor finishing, Dembele had a mixed record in his maiden season

in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Ettifaq, as the table above illustrates.

The forward wasted a startling 20 “big chances,” indicating that he did not take advantage

of the high-caliber opportunities that were presented to him. He scored 12 goals in 25 games.

which is less than one every other game.

Overall, Celtic made a great move in selling him for £20 million, as the striker,

who is 28 years old and in what should be his prime years,

has never been sold for more than that amount. His current valuation is half that amount.