Lennon prepares new deals for stars

Neil Lennon is ready to open contract talks with three of his top players.

The Celtic boss has never hidden his admiration for Gary Hooper with a new deal for the former Scunthorpe striker a priority.

Joe Ledley and Georgios Samaras have been shoulder to shoulder with Hooper in Celtic’s recent successes with Lennon anxious to get all three onto new improved deals.

With Victor Wanyama likely to be moving on the Celtic boss is looking to bring in new faces AND keep the SPL champions squad together.

“The stance will be the same, trying to find younger good players and bringing them on,” Lennon explained.

“We’d be looking to extend the contracts of the likes of Gary Hooper, Joe and Sami.

“We’ve also been in discussion with Anthony Stokes but that’s not done yet. Hopefully it will be done soon.

“Kris Commons has another year left after this one, so he’s okay.

“Kelvin Wilson had a really good season and there’s more to come but with the option there’s no rush to talk to him now. We’ll do that somewhere down the line.

“For the other players, it’s about speaking to them individually and assessing their situations and seeing where we are.”

Lennon now has his full squad together in Germany as they prepare for their second tour match today against Romanian side Cluj.

“I’m sure I’ll get some of it, but I don’t know how much I’ll need.

“But we would be looking for a replacement for him, for sure, and that would cost money.

“I wouldn’t imagine I’d need to spend the whole £10m-£12m but we are always looking for quality players.