Highly-rated Celtic youngster Karamoko Dembele made his debut for the club’s Under-20s side as a late substitute against Hearts on Monday night, at the age of just thirteen.
Dembele was a surprise inclusion in the squad for the encounter, but the biggest shock of the night came when he replaced Jack Aitchison late on.
Ultimately, he was helped by the fact that many of the players that would have ordinarily featured in the game were away due to international call-ups, but he will have been delighted to have been given an opportunity on such a big stage at such a young age.
It could be argued that he’s far too young to be featuring in such a game, and Celtic would do well to protect him at 13 and continue to nurture his talent in a different environment.
Nevertheless, it appears as though they aren’t afraid to throw him into the mix and test him, and it will have certainly been a memorable night for the barely-teenage ace who will hope to use the experience to his advantage and continue to develop his game and become a part of Celtic’s long-term future plans.
Here’s a snap of the young man in action, courtesy of @Hullbhoy on Twitter:
This is amazing. 13 year old Karamoko Dembele is playing for Celtic U20 development squad tonight. pic.twitter.com/kMwaEAeB4f
— ?Andrew (@Hullbhoy) October 3, 2016