Chris Sutton believes that it would be crazy if Celtic don’t offer Scott Brown a new contract.
The club captain will be 36 in June with recent weeks seeing a marked decline on his influence with Ismaila Soro emerging from the sidelines to make his mark.
Brown returned to skipper Celtic to the Scottish Cup win against Hearts but it’s difficult to see him playing his way back into the starting XI.
This summer massive change is expected in the Celtic squad with four key players entering the final year of their contract alongside the return of three loan signings that have been involved this season.
David Turnbull has been the only summer signing to make a positive impact on the team with Sutton believing that Brown must be retained through the summer handover.
In the Daily Record, Sutton explains:
He’s been sat on the sidelines in other recent matches as Ismaila Soro has taken his place and really cemented a spot in the side. It all points to a career winding down. An inspirational skipper who is coming to the end of the road with a contract expiring at the end of the season.
But I’ll tell you one thing. With so much uncertainty around Celtic and huge upheaval looming in the coming months, it would be crazy not to have Brown around that dressing room for 2021-22. I’m not saying he should be playing 20 or 25 games. It might only be five or 10. As he turns 36 years of age of June, it might not be any.
Brown was Celtic’s record signing at £4.4m when he moved from Hibs in 2007, captaining Celtic since 2010 when Tony Mowbray handed him the armband following the departure of Stephen McManus.