A Celtic XI played Hamilton Accies in a friendly at Douglas Park today with no sign of Karamoko Dembele in the side.
Last night in Prague Celtic named 10 substitutes including two goalkeepers with Karamoko again absent while Sparta had 12 subs listed.
The teenager was an unused substitute in Celtic’s first two Europa League matches against AC Milan and Lille but Video Celts understands that, alongwith Armstrong Oko Flex, the 17-year-old hasn’t been seen at training for two weeks.
It’s not the biggest issue for Neil Lennon to deal with this weekend but Celtic had high hopes for the winger that appeared for the Reserve side in 2016 as a 13-year-old which prompted a rule change that only allowed players 16 or over to feature.
Karamoko signed a two year professional contract ahead of his 16th birthday in February 2019 and made his first team debut as a second half substitute against Hearts three months later. A week afterwards he was on the bench at Hampden as Celtic beat Hearts in the Scottish Cup Final to clinch the Treble Treble.
Last season he made just two substitute appearances with his opportunities limited by the lack of a worthwhile Reserve League although he continued to be selected for the England youth side.
With his contract running out in June and just a five minute outing against Hamilton in August to his name this season it looks unlikely that Karamoko will play again for Celtic unless there is a massive change in the relationship between the club and player.