After winning 17 trophies and making over 500 appearances, Scott Brown’s time at Celtic seems close to coming to an end. Reports from the Scottish Sun indicates that Australian side Western Melbourne are set to step up in their pursuit of Scott Brown for the next season. The 33-year-old midfielder is being considered as a marquee signing for the club, and they are set to offer him a 3-year deal.
Reports add that the next few days could be the decider as the Aussie chiefs are going to have crunch talks with the Celtic captain this week. The midfielder is also a target for MLS sides like Minnesota United and Sporting Kansas City. However, at the moment the club from down under look more keen on landing him.
It is believed that Celtic have offered Brown a chance to sign an eleven-month extension but that seems to be on hold at the moment and Brendan Rodgers seems to be okay with it as he has allowed the midfielder to take his time before coming to a decision.
Rodgers was quoted as saying (Herald Scotland),”I have said it before that Scott will be afforded time in terms of making a decision about what he wants to do going forward. He deserves that time. So of course very much we want him to be here. But he has to at this period of his life and his career to be able to assess the options he has. He has been an incredible servant for the club. But I think he has earned that time to make his choice.”
Brown has played a significant role for Celtic even this season as he has made 28 appearances in all competitions so far. But its clear that the Scottish midfielder is definitely past his prime and that was evident in the just gone by Old Firm derby where he was taken to the cleaners by the Rangers midfielders. He seemed to be a notch behind the pace of the game, and if one keeps the emotional side aside, then Celtic needs to look at young midfield options soon.
If Brown goes on to join Western Melbourne for the 2019-20 season even when Celtic offered a contract, then the fans shouldn’t look at this as a betrayal. As Rodgers said, the player needs to think about his family at this stage of his career, and a big money move to Australia seems very much on the cards.
Celtic would definitely lose a major presence and character in the dressing room, but it’s time for Rodgers to instil some new blood into the team. As for Brown, he would hope that the team can give him the best parting gift by securing an 8th consecutive league title.
