Peterborough United chief Darragh MacAnthony: ‘I won’t be bullied into selling Dembele.’

Dembele shocked the club by handing in a transfer request last weekend in the hope of getting away from Posh during the January transfer window.

Posh have not accepted the request and won’t be formally circulating the player’s availability to other clubs, but they would sell if the price is right.

That’s a big ‘if’ according to MacAnthony who believes Dembele’s agent is behind the move.

“Sometimes agents don’t do their players any favours,” MacAnthony stated on today’s (January 6) of his popular ‘Hard Truth’ podcast.

“And sometimes players act as though they have single digit IQs. I chuckle at agents who want to play games with me. If they get into the ring with me they will lose. This is not my first rodeo. I’ve been doing this for 15 years.

“A couple of clubs have already tried it on by throwing out crappy figures at me, but I won’t be bullied. An agent won’t influence anything.

“I said to Siriki in August and I will tell him again when I see him that he should become the best player in League One, help us get promoted and then the world will be his oyster in the summer.

“A distracted player won’t do himself or the team any favours. He’ll lose form and he’ll lose his place. We’re live on TV on Saturday and Siriki needs to train well to make sure he’s selected and then go out and score a hat-trick to tell everyone he’s ready to play in the Premier League.

“If you play for me you have to trust me. I won’t mess with your career because at the end of the day you’re an asset.

“If we’d let Ivan Toney go last January he’d have been on 8-9 grand a week, but when he did leave he was a golden boot winner earning £38k a week.

“If we get an offer for Dembele that knocks my socks off he will leave, but my sixth sense tells me he won’t be going anywhere.”

Personal issues are thought to have played a big part in Dembele’s decision to ask for a transfer. He has a partner and a young child who live in Scotland.