Celtic recently banished the blues of their past defeat against CFR Cluj as they registered a comfortable 2-0 win in the Europa League group stages which has propelled the Hoops on the top of the table. Earlier, in the Champions League qualifiers, Celtic had lost 4-3 in the second leg in front of their home fans against the same opponents. We are discounting yesterday’s loss as it was mostly down to Celtic playing with ten men for the majority of the match.
Callum McGregor played a stellar role in the midweek game as he dictated play from the middle and orchestrated various attacking moves from midfield. His energy, intensity and vision were unmatched as Cluj players found him hard to contain. Incidentally, McGregor had spent the Champions league qualifier game against Cluj at left wing-back.
That was an obvious mistake from Lennon. However, the club is not making the mistake of letting him leave as reports from the Glasgow Evening Times suggests that the club is in talks to hand McGregor a new deal. The midfielder is already on a long term contract which runs until 2023. However, Lennon knows how vital the 26-year-old midfielder is to Celtic plans.
Lennon on McGregor’s contract situation
Lennon recently said on McGregor’s contract situation, ”We’re in talks at the minute, so we’re hoping to get that one finalised. There was interest in him; there was no question about that. There was no confirmation of a bid, but there was definite interest. That doesn’t surprise me. We held on to him obviously, and it’s important we do the right thing. The principled thing is to give him a new deal; he deserves it.”
Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City were linked with him in the summer, and it seems like the Hoops are going to give McGregor a pay rise to keep his head from turning. The Foxes are currently flying high in the Premier League, and it wouldn’t be too far fetched to say that they can genuinely compete for the top 4 this season.
Can Lennon keep him?
Moving to the Premier League also comes with a bumper pay rise. However, Celtic are playing their cards right to keep McGregor on a long term deal. The 26-year-old is currently in the prime of his career, and the Hoops will hope that he can help them out for the next few years. However, a move to the Premier League cannot be counted out even though the player might look want to stay on for now.
We saw how fan favourite Kieran Tierney left for Arsenal this summer. The same can happen with McGregor even though he might go on to sign a new contract as the Scottish clubs don’t have the means to match the financial might of the Premier League clubs.
