We’re just about to hit November with the festive season just around the corner. For football fans, this means a busy period and a lot of football – but it also means we’re creeping closer to January and with that comes more headaches.
For Celtic, they should be looking to add one or two IF there is anyone who can come in and enhance this squad. However, it’s more likely to be a winter of exits at Celtic Park with the board looking to trim the fat on some of the fringe players who aren’t cutting it.
One thing that will have to be settled sooner rather than later will be the future of three of the squad players whose contracts are running out next summer.
Craig Gordon, Jonny Hayes and Nir Bitton are all coming to the last six months of their deal and Celtic must make a conscious choice before they come available for a free in the market.
Neil Lennon has used all three this season already and has even handed Gordon the responsibility of the League Cup to Craig Gordon while Fraser Forster plays the majority of games.
Celtic have a large wage budget and they’ll be looking to bring costs down. This is where we could see another Mikael Lustig scenario unfold in the coming months. Lustig wanted to stay at Celtic, Lennon wanted Lustig to stay at Celtic but the deal the defender was looking for was point-blank refused by Peter Lawwell according to RecordSport. Lustig left the club and moved to Belgium as a result.
It’s different if they’re first-team stars and pivotal to Neil Lennon but if they are bit-part players then there’s going to be a chance the board stop any deals or low ball players they believe are only squad filler. Bitton is used as a backup defender even though he is a central midfielder – would the board sanction a new deal for the Israeli if he isn’t deemed pivotal?
Jonny Hayes is a utility man and has made the Celtic bench because of that to this point. He can add a bit of dig but can’t really contribute to the attacking flair when he does come on. Even if Lennon wants him on board next season there’s no guarantee a deal could be reached that would satisfy all parties.
Gordon is a player who will likely want to play as much first-team football as he can before all is said and done. If the goalkeeper still has the desire to keep playing at a decent level he will probably leave of his own volition.
