Stuart Armstrong has been linked with a move away from Celtic, with Southampton and West Bromwich Albion both interested.
At the end of last season, it appeared essential that Celtic extended the contract of Stuart Armstrong after his brilliant year with the Hoops – especially as it appeared that the midfielder, whose contract expires next summer, was starting to attract Premier League interest.
The Daily Mail recently suggested that West Brom had been in contact with the Bhoys about the 25-year-old, while Southampton were also keeping an eye on the situation.
Celtic’s Stuart Armstrong
But while tying Armstrong down to a new deal may have previously been a must for Brendan Rodgers, perhaps the competitive debut of one of their summer signings just hints that if Armstrong does not want to sign a new contract, selling him should be a serious option.
Olivier Ntcham shone in the Champions League qualifying win over Linfield at Parkhead one week after he arrived from Manchester City for a fee BBC Sport reports is worth £4.5 million.
Though it is too soon to draw drastic conclusions on the Frenchman’s quality – especially given the calibre of the opposition – his display surely hints that he could already be ready to become a key man for Celtic during the coming campaign.
Therefore, if he keeps impressing as he did on his debut and Armstrong suggests that he is not planning to sign a new contract, then perhaps Celtic should welcome any offers that come in this summer from the likes of West Brom and Southampton for the latter rather than allow one of last season’s key men to run their contract down – if he decides that that is what he intends to do.
Olivier Ntcham
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