Celtic will be entitled to some of the money if Manchester United buy Moussa Dembele from Lyon, Football Scotland's Matthew Elder writes.

The lowdown

Celtic signed Dembele on a free transfer from Fulham in 2016 and he went on to make 94 appearances for the club, scoring 51 goals and providing 18 assists.

In 2018, they agreed to sell him to Lyon for £19.8million, a deal that remains one of the most lucrative in their history.

The Daily Mail reported this week that Manchester United are now eyeing the Frenchman, with no guarantee that Marcus Rashford, Cristiano Ronaldo or Anthony Martial will be at Old Trafford next season.

United are aware that Dembele would qualify as a homegrown player following his stint at Celtic, offering another incentive.

The latest

Elder says that Celtic insist on sell-on clauses when they sell players, and they could now see the benefit of that strategy.

He thinks Lyon may be inclined to cash in on Dembele this summer because he'll be entering the final year of his contract.

The portion of the proceeds which The Hoops are due to receive isn't specified.

The verdict

The Mail claim that Lyon could ask for £25million for Dembele, and so Celtic would be in line to bank a fairly considerable amount of money, even if the clause is only along the lines of ten per cent.

The club can be very pleased with their transfer dealings in this instance, having banked a huge sum in the first place for a player who didn't cost them a penny.

And now they're due to reap the rewards of some long-term thinking and firm negotiation.

With Jeremie Frimpong, who also has a sell-on clause, a target for Bayern Munich, Celtic's coffers could be nicely boosted by external dealings this summer.

In other news, Celtic have received a fitness boost.