Anthony Ralston has put pen to paper on a new Celtic contract.
Celtic right-back Anthony Ralston has put pen to paper on a new four-and-a-half-year deal in a move that suggests Brendan Rodgers sees the Hoops academy product as the eventual replacement for Mikael Lustig.
The 19-year-old will now remain at Celtic until the summer of 2022, unless the Hoops receive a fee they feel is acceptable in order for him to leave.
With Lustig 12 years Ralston’s senior, he is likely to begin to replace the Swede on a more prominent basis before taking over full-time. But where does that leave Costa Rica international Cristian Gamboa?
Gamboa, 28, has managed just two appearances all season for the Hoops and has now entered the final 18 months of his contract on Parkhead, after first signing for the Scottish champions back in the summer of 2016.
The 62-time Costa Rica international has been forced to watch from the sidelines while Lustig continues to assert his dominance on the right-back slot, while James Forrest has also been used on the right side of defence.
With Rodgers preferring to play Forrest at right-back instead of the former West Bromwich Albion defender, Ralston’s new deal is likely to push Gamboa even further down the pecking order as Rodgers will place faith in the teenager’s potential.
In what could be considered fourth choice right-back, Gamboa must be offloaded following Ralston’s contract with the January transfer window likely to come as perfect timing to save his deteriorating career.
Gamboa could consider a loan move in order to try and prove to Rodgers that he is still worthy of a future in Glasgow, but the likelihood is that if Gamboa were to leave, it would be on a permanent basis.
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