Jorge Cadete believes that Moussa Dembele can hit the 45 goal mark.
Sunday’s goal against St Mirren took the Celtic striker’s total for the season to 32- just one short of the 33 that Cadete managed in his first season in Scotland.
Dembele hasn’t looked back since confidently striking home a penalty against Astana that booked Celtic into the play-off stage of the Champions League.
Week by week his reputation is growing as his game develops bringing more and more to the team.
Cadete was an out and out poacher but his successor at Celtic is more of an all round striker without compromising his instinct around the penalty box.
“Dembele is only 20, but he has settled in at Celtic very well,” Cadete told The Sun. “There is no doubt he will break my record of 33 goals.
“How many can he get? It’s difficult to predict, but with 12 or 13 games remaining, he should be aiming for 45 goals.
“That is realistic because Dembele is a player with massive talent who is full of confidence.
“I don’t see too many Celtic games live, but I catch up on the goals through Facebook and Instagram.
“It seems as if he scores in every game, and you can see how he’s managed to reach 32 at this stage of the season.
“Scoring 33 goals is something I am proud of, but when Dembele beats it, I will congratulate him.”
Dembele has a maximum of 13 games left to play this season, 12 if Celtic fail to reach the final of the Scottish Cup.
Since recovering from a knee injury in January he has scored 12 goals in six matches to take Celtic to seven points away from clinching the SPFL title.
