Scotland international Scott Bain has signed a new contract with Celtic which will keep him at the club until 2023. His earlier contract kept him at Parkhead until 2022 so Celtic have now gone on to extend another year for him. Bain is currently back in training after suffering from a hand injury in August.
The goalkeeper has primarily been the second choice option at Parkhead since his arrival in 2018. However, he became the first-choice option in the second half of last season as Rodgers started preferring him over Craig Gordon. Even when Lennon took over, Bain continued to be the first choice option.
However, an injury to Bain in August complicated matters for Celtic as they only had Craig Gordon as the other available goalkeeping option. Lennon had enough time in the transfer market to bring in a reliable goalkeeper, and the former Bolton manager managed to get Fraser Forster on a season-long loan from Southampton.
Forster has continued to do well in between the sticks, and it would be interesting to see who would continue as the first choice option when Bain becomes available. We feel that Lennon will continue to prefer Forster in goal.
Why Celtic might need a new goalkeeper next summer
However, we think that the Hoops will likely find it hard to get Forster permanently after his loan deal expires. Therefore Bain can then once again become the first choice option. Gordon, who could be the third choice option now with Bain coming back is likely to leave the club in the summer after his contract expires in the summer of 2020. Therefore the Hoops might be on the lookout for another goalkeeper next year once Gordon’s contract expires and Forster goes back to Southampton.
Why Bain will have to be patient this season
Bain had done well in goal when he became the first choice option since the turn of the year. His distribution abilities are what probably pushed Rodgers to start him over Gordon initially. Bain, though impressed by making some crucial saves as well. However, he has one or two errors to his game which might not have convinced some of the fans. In the Champions League qualifiers this season, Bain was behind some questionable decision making which led to goals.
However, Celtic does see him as a long term option as they have gone on to extend his contract by four years. It will be tough for him to break into the starting eleven with Forster being the first choice now. However, he should get his chances in the future once the Englishman’s loan deal expires next summer.
