Brendan Rodgers hails Moussa Dembele's agent

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has paid tribute to the agent of Moussa Dembele for playing a key role in the young Frenchman moving to Celtic Park in the summer transfer window.

It is understood that Dembele had options to move to the Premier League from Fulham, but the 20-year-old signed a four-year contract with the Scottish Premier League champions.

On Saturday, the 20-year-old scored a hat-trick in Celtic's 5-1 win over bitter rivals Rangers, and Rodgers has revealed his delight at being able to bring the striker to Scotland amid interest from England.

"I think first of all I have to congratulate Moussa's agent. When we heard he was available, I spoke to a number of people who know him," Rodgers told reporters. "I thought there was a possibility to get him, I still felt it was probably a long shot purely because of his age, (he is) a sought-after striker with top teams in the Premier League wanting him."

Dembele has now scored seven times in 11 appearances for Celtic this season.