The Siriki Dembele transfer-saga seems to still be rumbling on as Peterborough chairman Darragh McAnthony admitted he's highly unlikely to be sold this January. 

The wingers contract expires at the end of the 2021/22 season and with the latest admission from McAnthony, clubs will most certainly be circling.

Rangers and Celtic have been heavily linked to the forward who has been in impressive form so far for Posh scoring four times.

There have also been links to Bournemouth, Stoke and Fulham and with Dembele unlikely to sign a new contract, McAnthony has admitted it will be hard to keep him around at London Road beyond the end of this season.

McAnthony explained on The Hard Truth podcast: “Siriki is a top-end Championship talent. He’s not in the shop window.

"We are not actively looking to sell him in January so any clubs who think it’s ‘bargain city’ as he only has six months left on his contract can think again. It wouldn’t be worth it to a club of our size with our owners."

Losing a player like Dembele will certainly do more harm than good to Peterborough and their efforts to stay in the Championship but that's something McAnthony was keen to quash: “Opposition teams will all treat Siriki as one of our biggest dangers, but it’s not all about him. Our season doesn’t depend on his presence.”

"Now, if a club offered us a premium price of say £7 million with add ons we would have a decision to make, but if he did go we have plans B and C in place to cope."

The Verdict

There's no doubt that Dembele is a top talent and has shown that he's more than capable of making that step up in the Championship as he's been one of Peterborough's better performers so far this season.

It's hard to agree with McAnthony, obviously if there is a plan B, will that player be a better option than Dembele? That remains to be seen as is clearly a risk so at least keeping hold of him until the end of the season will benefit Posh more if Dembele helps them stay up.

There risks to both options and it's an unenviable position for Peterborough and their board whatever they decide to do.