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Moussa Dembele has played down suggestions that he is only using Celtic as a stepping stone before moving on to join another European club.

The young striker gave an interview to the Daily Mailabout the opening months of his career at Parkhead, as well as the speculation linking him to European giants such as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and his commitment to the French national team.

Dembele only joined Celtic on a free transfer from Fulham in the summer transfer window but has already attracted the interest of a number of sides thanks to blistering form that has seen him plunder 12 goals in his first 17 appearances for the Hoops.

Despite being humbled by the conjecture, however, Dembele maintains that his sole focus is scoring goals and winning titles with Brendan Rodgers' side - and that he plans on sticking with the Scottish champions for the long haul.

He said: "It's good to know that but as long as they know I'm a Celtic player. Celtic is the best club for me. Not just for a few years. For a few years and more.

"That's why I came here. I didn't come here to stay just for a few years. I came here for the long term. I'm focused on Celtic “ I don't listen too much to what anyone is saying about me. My job is to get Celtic the best results possible and score as many goals as possible.

Celtic's Moussa Dembele wins Player of the Month awardhttps://t.co/8u6NJMTNgP
(pic: @snsgroup) pic.twitter.com/vHyfjcCPqw

"I know when I'm 100 per cent ready that I can produce some good stuff. That's what I've done so far. You can always do better, so I won't say you have seen me at my best yet. I am still young and still have things to learn. So you can only say that there is more to come.

"My ultimate ambition, as I've said before, is still to be one of the best - or the best - striker in the world. That is my main target. Before that happens, I have a lot of things to do and I need to train very hard."

Dembele also refuted claims that he would pledge his allegiance to England at international level after rumours surfaced that the 20-year-old may be open to featuring for his adopted homeland.

Our bhoy @MDembele_10 scoring for france u21s pic.twitter.com/yTCMPwcZFe

Dembele earned his first international call-up to France's Under-21 squad during the recent international break, and scored a sumptuous volley on his debut in the 5-1 demolition of Georgia on October 7.

And the ex-PSG youth player shot down any notion that he would turn his back on his country of origin in favour of being selected by the Three Lions at senior level, as well as stating his readiness to play for Les Bleus under national team manager Didier Deschamps.

He added: "I'm French, I was born in France. So no, I won't play for England.

"I'm ready as soon as he calls me. He's the manager, it's up to him to choose his players. But I'm ready. I couldn't say I'm not ready because I'd be lying. I will take any chance that comes “ and, if it doesn't come, I'll work harder."

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