Peterborough United chairman has slapped a multi-million pound January price tag on Siriki Dembele, but he doesn’t want to sell him

Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has slapped a January price tag of £7 million-£8 million on star player Siriki Dembele.
Siriki Dembele of Peterborough United celebrates victory over QPR at full-time. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.Siriki Dembele of Peterborough United celebrates victory over QPR at full-time. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.
Siriki Dembele of Peterborough United celebrates victory over QPR at full-time. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.

But he insists Posh are not actively looking to sell Dembele in the next transfer window even though the club could lose him for nothing at the end of the current season.

And MacAnthony also stressed the success of Posh in the Championship this season is not dependent on Dembele’s presence.

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The 25 year-old is out of contract at the end of the 2021-22 campaign after resisting all efforts to get a signature on a new, improved Posh deal.

Siriki Dembele of Peterborough United scores the winning goal against Queens Park Rangers. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.Siriki Dembele of Peterborough United scores the winning goal against Queens Park Rangers. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.
Siriki Dembele of Peterborough United scores the winning goal against Queens Park Rangers. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.

Dembele scored the winning goal in both of the most recent Championship games against Hull and QPR. He is the club’s top scorer this season with four goals.

“Siriki is a top end Championship talent,” MacAnthony said during the latest edition of his ‘Hard Truth’ podcast. “He could even play in the Premier League.

“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.

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“Josh King had six months left on his contract last January and he went for £10 million (Bournemouth to Everton). 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. 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.

“The manager has devised a way of playing which means we would cope without Siriki. There are plenty of other good players at the club.

“Siriki has been phenomenal for us since he didn’t get a move in August. He’s put his head down, worked hard and now he’s reaping the benefits.

“He’s not the finished article yet as if he was he’d be playing for Barcelona. He’s still a young kid who’s had four seasons of regular professional football. If we lose him at the end of the season for nothing and he joins Real Madrid then great, he would go with our best wishes. If he decides to stay and sign a lucrative contract with us that’s great also.”

Dembele joined Posh after one full season in League Two with Grimsby in the summer of 2018. He has scored 30 goals in 136 (106 starts) appearances for Posh.