MOUSSA Dembele yesterday claimed the controversial tactics he had deployed in order to engineer a move to Lyon had “paid off” because the Celtic hierarchy “gave in” and agreed to his £20 million transfer.

Dembele angered his manager Brendan Rodgers and senior officials at the Parkhead club with two posts on Twitter late on Thursday night and early on Friday morning after they had refused to let him go.

He wrote: “A man without his word is nothing. A real man keeps his word." He then added: “A lie has many variations, the truth none. Careful who you call the leader of yours.”

The 22-year-old was then asked to leave training at Lennoxtown on Friday afternoon by Rodgers, who insisted that no promises had ever been made to the player, due to his negative attitude and surly demeanour.

The Northern Irishman, who had been keen to hold onto the French striker because he had no replacement lined up, later spoke to members of the Celtic board and it was agreed to accept the Lyon bid in order to protect the harmony within the first team squad.

Dembele underwent a medical and completed the move shortly before the summer transfer deadline closed at midnight and was officially unveiled at the Groupama Stadium yesterday afternoon.

The former Fulham player, who scored 51 goals in 94 appearance for the Glasgow club he joined in a £400,000 deal two years ago, has become the most expensive player ever sold by a Scottish club.

The France Under-21 forward admitted the protracted transfer saga had been difficult for him - but stated that his actions ultimately had the desired effect.

“I'm glad to be here,” he said. “Thank you to the president and Lyon for believing in me, for giving me their trust. It was a certainty that I wanted to come to Lyon.

“Celtic needed a replacement to finalize. I was determined to come to Lyon. It was hard. I gave everything and in the end it paid off. My leaders gave in.”

Meanwhile, Celtic yesterday announced they have signed Irish-born England youth internationalist Armstrong Okoflex from Arsenal on a three year deal.

The 16-year-old, who can play out wide or through the middle, admitted working under former Swansea City and Liverpool manager Rodgers was a major attraction due to his proven track record working with young players and expressed hope he can make his first team debut this season.

“This is a massive club and one that plays in Europe,” he told Celtic TV. “Celtic are also known for bringing young players through their academy to their first team. I feel I have a chance to progress here and this is the right club for me at the moment.

“I had a meeting with Brendan Rodgers and he was very convincing. He’s a great manager with all the success he’s had at previous clubs and at Celtic, and he was one of the big factors in coming here.

“The manager told me about Raheem Sterling, how he was a young teenager at Liverpool and then he brought him up in pre-season and, because he was doing well and better than the older wingers at the club, he played him in the league games. It shows he’ll play young players and that’s encouraging for me.

“I come from Arsenal and I was U16 and sometimes U18 and I have played a few internationals in my age-groups. Both clubs are quite similar in how they play football as they like to keep possession, move the ball quickly and try and exploit teams and that will really help me."

Okoflex added: “I’m quite direct, quick and I like to think I’m skilful and can score a few goals. I can play out wide through the middle or behind the striker, but I’ve mostly played striker or left wing.

“Training has been good so far, especially when I trained with the first-team. I couldn’t believe the level and it took me a couple of sessions to get to that level and I’m just happy to have had the opportunity to train with the first team and been around it. The quality here is good.

“This season I would like to make my debut. My personal target it to make my debut before I turn 17. I’m trying to aim high. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t, and I’ll just keep working."