According to TEAMtalk, Derby County, Queens Park Rangers and Brentford are among the Championship clubs all eyeing a deal for Peterborough United’s Siriki Dembele.
The Posh attacker is attracting plenty of interest after impressing in League One.
With his contract expiring at the end of the current campaign, clubs could be looking at a potential bargain in January with the likes of Derby desperate for added quality.
Dembele has five goals and three assists in 11 League One games thus far. Whoscored rate him as the best player in League One currently with a 7.62/10 average.
Here we asked fellow GRV Media Football writer and Peterborough United supporter John Verrall for further insight on the player seemingly destined to move up the leagues.
Hi John: What sort of attacker is Dembele? Is he better through the middle or out wide?
JV: He’s actually played well in both positions. Dembele made his big breakthrough last season when Posh switched to a 3-5-2 formation and he played as the shadow striker.
This time around he has played out wide more regularly, but he has still continued to impress.
He currently tops the Whoscored charts as the best player in League One – does this come as a surprise?
JV: Not really, he absolutely outshines everyone in the Football League in terms of completed dribbles and we look to him for a lot of our creativity. He is, at this stage, clearly too good for League One although there are areas he will still need to develop if he is to fulfil his potential, such as his final ball.
What can he achieve? Can he go beyond the Championship and play Premier League football?
JV: I think he can certainly play in the Championship and be a big threat, even at this stage of his career. To reach the top tier he is going to have to produce more consistently in the final third and learn when to release the ball.
At the moment Dembele can be a bit of a soloist, and as he steps up the divisions, he may have to rein in his natural instincts to run with the ball and be more selective over when he uses his skill.
Posh have a remarkable recent history of finding and selling on forwards such as Britt Assombalonga, Jack Marriott and Ivan Toney – how does Dembele compare?
JV: Well, he’s a very different striker to all the ones you have named. He’s never going to score as many goals as the aforementioned trio, as he isn’t as natural a finisher. However, he is more skilful than any of the three, and as a creative influence he’s more effective.
How would you, and fellow Posh fans, feel about him leaving?
JV: I’d be gutted, particularly if it was mid-season. Our success this season is likely to heavily depend on Dembele’s form. When he’s at his best, he really makes this side tick. There is a realisation, though, that without promotion it’s highly unlikely he’ll stick around.
Also see: Manager with ‘Pep Guardiola similarities’ responds to Derby and Celtic links
Also see: ‘Special club’: League rival boss claims he was so close to joining Derby during Mel Morris reign