Mikael Lustig has signed a new deal with Celtic, but confirmed that he considered his options beforehand.
Mikael Lustig has confirmed that he decided to look into other options before signing a contract extension at Celtic, the Daily Record reports.
The 30-year-old has been a stalwart of the Hoops side since joining in 2012 but his deal with the Scottish Premiership champions was allowed to run into its final six months.
Celtic’s Mikael Lustig
But he put any speculation about his future to bed by signing a new two-year contract with the Bhoys that could keep him at Parkhead until the summer of 2019, according to the Record.
And after agreeing the extension, Lustig admitted that he had been beginning to prepare for the possibility of his previous contract being allowed to expire without a new one being put on the table.
“As a footballer you never know what might happen or whether the club will want you to stay. So of course you have to make sure you’re not left surprised if the club tells you they’re not going to renew your deal,” he said, as reported by the Record.
“So we looked at some other clubs in other countries. But I like it here and wanted to stay with this club.”
It is hardly a surprise that Brendan Rodgers decided that he wanted to keep Lustig around the squad. Though the Hoops’ defence has been extremely impressive, they would perhaps not boast enough depth at right-back if they decided to let the Swede go in the near future.
Cristian Gamboa has struggled since arriving, so unless Celtic went out and strengthened their ranks in the transfer market, it would have surely made little sense to allow Lustig’s previous deal to expire.
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