As we head into the end closing part of the current campaign, the feel-good factor around Celtic hasn’t scarcely been higher.
We’re in a better place than we have been in years, and fans are rightly looking forward to the last few weeks and a close-season in which we can bask in our glory and our record breaking team, and watch as Brendan builds the squad for the next campaign.
There is barely a cloud on the horizon.
But there is one. And it’s a dark one.
Stuart Armstrong hasn’t signed a new deal with the club yet. And now rival teams are starting to sniff around him, thinking there might be a chance here to grab him. They should be dissuaded of that notion once and for all. The club needs to move quickly and secure the player on a new long-term deal, one that rewards him for his sterling efforts this year and locks him down for the foreseeable future. We can build our team around him.
And we should, because this guy is a class act.
One paper today has him linked with a move to West Brom; under normal circumstances the idea of that would be wholly absurd. But they can certainly offer him an obscene amount of money, probably more than we can. Is that what drives the player? I doubt it. He can very well compensated for wearing the Celtic shirt, and he can win honours and glory and be a part of making history here. For a lot of players job satisfaction has very little to do with their salary.
They want to look back on a career of accomplishments, and trophies.
I think Stuart loves it at Celtic Park and wants to stay. That means it’s all about finding the middle ground between what’s on the table at the moment and what he wants. Brendan will be the man who ultimately decides who stays and who goes. If he fights for Stuart to get the deal that will keep him at Parkhead then I have no doubt the player will get it and we’ll have him in our squad for the next five years and beyond.
Conversely though, if there’s no deal to be done – if the two parties are so far apart that it’s not going to be feasible to bridge the gap – then we need to see what offers are out there. West Brom are allegedly talking about £8 million; if it’s take an offer like that or risk him walking on freedom of contract then what choice do we have?
The situation with Armstrong has been dragging on for a while. Come the summer we need a resolution. By the time the season wraps up he’ll have a year left on his deal; his value will only drop from there as he heads towards the point where there are six months remaining on it, and that means this summer is decision time all round.
I think every Celtic fan wants him to stay. I think the player wants to stay. I am sure Brendan wants to keep him. He has become an integral part of his midfield, and the idea of letting him go isn’t one the manager will want to entertain.
Talks are said to be “progressing” and whilst it’s a little early to panic, everyone involved realises that the coming summer is crucial to his future here.
It would be good to see this wrapped up before the season ends, and although the folks at Celtic Park have one or two other things on their minds right now this can’t wait much longer. For everyone’s sake, guys, let’s get the deal signed and sealed.