Should Celtic look at Darren Fletcher this summer?
At 34, Stoke City midfielder and Celtic fan Darren Fletcher could be available for a pittance this summer if and when Paul Lambert’s side are relegated from the Premier League.
The Potters are five points adrift of safety with four games to go and it looks increasingly probable that City will be a Championship side next season.
Now in the twilight of his playing career, Fletcher, who grew up supporting Celtic, might just favour a switch to his boyhood club if the alternative means playing in the second tier of English football.
Brendan Rodgers isn’t short of midfielders at the moment, but if the linked-away Northern Irishman stays on at Parkhead beyond this summer then progress in Europe has to be the aim next season and someone of Fletcher’s experience can certainly help him do that.
Rodgers might well win back-to-back domestic trebles and the next logical step is reaching the knockout phases of the Champions League, something they have not yet done under the former Liverpool boss.
In both seasons, the Bhoys were handed very difficult group stages, but sooner or later that has to stop being an excuse and Fletcher – a Champions League winner with Manchester United in 2008 – could help take Rodgers’s side to the next level in the 2018-19 season.
The 80-time Scotland international, who once told Sky Sports that he was set to join Rangers before the Red Devils came in for him, still has plenty more to offer a non-Premier League club and there’s no reason why Celtic should not try to be that side.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
