Celtic captain Scott Brown believes there is no better place for child prodigy Karamoko Dembele to flourish than at the club's youth academy and Lennoxtown training base.

The young playmaker hit the headlines this week, making a cameo appearance for Celtic's under 20s side despite only being 13 years old.

Hoops skipper Scott Brown admits the youngster looks like a prospect and he is in the right place under the guidance of the right people in his bid to develop into a first team regular.

Speaking at an event for Show Racism the Red Card, Brown said: "I've seen [Dembele's] instagram and he's been up training at Lennoxtown a couple of times.

"He looks the part but he's still got a little bit of development to go and I'm sure he'll be a good player and a prospect."

"When you see him playing against Barcelona and he's running past 13 and 14-year-olds like they are not there it shows you that he's got a bit.

"But he's got a lot to learn as well, and with our gaffer that's here just now I'm sure he'll learn as much as he possibly can.

"Our youth academy are great with the young ones coming through and all they do is look after them and try to protect them as much as possible."

When asked about whether it would be a wise move to try to incorporate Dembele into the Scotland setup, Brown joked: "You've churned that out a bit too early, haven't you? Let's just give him a cap already, why don't we?"

Brown often came under criticism during Ronny Deila's tenure at Celtic but since the arrival of Brendan Rodgers his and the team's performances appear to have improved dramatically.

Celtic are unbeaten in the league after an impressive start, sitting four points clear of Aberdeen in second with a game in hand.

Brown reflected: "We are only seven games into the season [although] it seems like it's been an epic so far and we are enjoying every single moment of it.

"The training has been exceptional and the way we've been playing in games; we are still getting match fitness to the level that the gaffer want's us to get to, but we are going to get there slowly."

In the past week Celts legend Kenny Dalglish said Celtic may as well be handed the title after their start to the campaign, but Brown - while flattered - insisted that first place was far from a formality.

"There's still a long way to go," he said. "It's very nice of Kenny saying that and we would take it just now if we could.

"But Aberdeen are going to battle all the way and so are Hearts yet again."