Allow me the pleasure of presenting you Karamoko Dembele, a footballing enigma dipped in a cup of perplexity, with cherry-picked moments of verve and vivacity. Born on a crisp February day in 2003, this English lad took the path less travelled, choosing to tame the leather sphere with his proficient feet drawled primarily on the right wing. Currently, you can see Dembele bedecked in the number 7 jersey, running around in pursuit of the good old onion bag for Queens Park Rangers. The fellow stands 5ft 3in tall (or 1.61m for you metric aficionados) and tips the scales at a sprightly 10st 3lb (or 65kg in the world going by kilograms).
Our story begins in July 2017, when a promising Dembélé strode into the historically rich precincts of Celtic. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, they say. Well, Dembélé’s was more of a toodles through the Premiership in Scotland, with his appearances tally not exactly spilling over the sides for the next 4 years. A grand total of eight appearances and a single goal were what Dembélé's loyal fans had to satiate themselves with, but never lose hope, I say.
In July 2022, Dembélé decided it was time for a change of air, of surroundings, or maybe just a longing for baguettes. He transferred his talents to Brest in the top-tier French football division, Ligue 1. Here, he probably learnt the art of surrender, given his dismal 15 appearances in the first season and just one in the second. Did I mention that there wasn't a single goal involved?
Apart from baguettes and surrendering, Dembélé also developed a liking to merry-go-rounds during his French sojourn. In August 2023, he was shipped back to England, this time to Blackpool on loan. June 2024 saw him return to Brest, presumably to finish that baguette he left uneaten. Back in France, his record was a mirror image of his previous spell. Surprise, surprise!
In August 2024, deciding he had had enough of cheese and wine, Dembélé hopped on the next carriage to Queens Park Rangers, again on loan. Here, believe it or not, he has managed to replicate his best seasonal appearances tally, already finding himself on the pitch 21 times this season and even managing to rustle up three goals. Adding on his couple of appearances as a substitute for the 2024-2025 QPR League Cup campaign, it seems like Dembélé is finally getting some decent football dust on his boots.
So here's hoping that Karamoko Dembele, now a ripe old 22, keeps on his upward trajectory at QPR. Because, after all, a man can only subsist on baguettes, cheese, and wine for so long.
