According to a recent report by the Daily Record, Celtic manager Neil Lennon has urged veteran goalkeeper Craig Gordon to decide his future at the club at the earliest, with talks still ongoing with the player. The report suggests that the Scottish ace is yet to return to pre-season training, as he ponders over the idea of leaving the Parkhead club. Premiership outfit St Mirren are said to have made an advance to try and acquire the 37-year-old, but Hearts have also been tipped with an interest.
Although Neil Lennon has urged Crain Gordon to decide on his Celtic future, the player is said to be taking the final call. Speaking on the matter, Lennon said, “Talks are ongoing between the club and Craig. We haven’t seen him; he is not at training at the minute. Hopefully, we get that resolved sooner rather than later. Already Jozo and Jonny have left so obviously we want to add to the squad and not break it up too much, I think continuity, for this season in particular, is going to be important.”
What Is Celtic’s Current Goalkeeping Situation?
The Celts’ transfer strategy over the last couple of seasons has been impressive, and one of the most important acquisitions from the previous campaign turned out to be Southampton loanee, Fraser Forster. The Englishman was a blockbuster buy, as he singlehandedly earned the Hoops a flurry of points in the league. The 32-year-old, who was third-choice at his parent club, played in 28 Premiership matches and conceded just 17 goals, while also keeping 14 clean sheets in the process.
Although the Saints man had returned to training last week, his loan tenure with the Parkhead club is set to expire in just a few days. With a cloud of uncertainty surrounding the future of Forster, Lennon would be left with only two realistic options to choose from in the role next season – Craig Gordon and Scott Bain. Going into a Premiership season with so much hanging on the line with these two goalkeeping options would be purely suicidal. While this is the case, the possible departure of a further custodian could have dire effects on Lennon’s title hopes.
How Did Craig Gordon’s Season At Celtic Go?
The veteran stopper, unfortunately, didn’t feature in a single Premiership tie, with Scott Bain being preferred whenever he was required to enter the action. The Scot didn’t feature in the first-team game for the Parkhead side after December and only went on to make six appearances across all competitions in the entire season.
He did though, keep a clean sheet each in Champions League and Europa League qualifying fixtures this campaign. Now 37, it’s perhaps not overly surprising that Lennon preferred to utilise the younger and more dynamic options of Forster or Bain ahead of the Scot this term.
Neil Lennon Has Urged Crain Gordon To Decide On Celtic Future: Why They Must Keep Him
The 37-year-old is undoubtedly on the last legs of his long career, and the opportunity to be part of the squad that might win their tenth straight league title next season could prove to be too much for the Scottish ace to pass up on.
Moreover, despite his advancing age, the stopper will be eager to make an impact on the club level, so as to get called up to Scotland’s squad for the European Championships in the coming year. Considering the situation they find themselves in, Celtic must do everything in their power to convince Gordon to stay on at Parkhead at least for another season.
