Ange Postecoglou is already sussing out Joe Hart, David Turnbull and Aaron Mooy about their Celtic futures.
The hoops boss likes to plan ahead for transfer windows and takes the same approach to contracts for his existing players.
Hart has been Postecoglou’s undisputed first choice keeper, Mooy has forced his way into the side since the World Cup break while Turnbull is an essential part of the squad but is more of a goalscoring substitute than a first team starter.
Age will have a bearing on the contract talks with Hart and Mooy, all three have different dynamics but speaking to the Daily Record the Celtic boss doesn’t shy away from the big decisions:
It’s about having discussions with the players. I need to know where they’re at, where their heads are. Last year, we had Bitton and Rogic with a year left.
It would have been easy for me to let them roll on for another year. But after discussions we came to a conclusion where they felt there were other opportunities they wanted to explore so they moved on which is fine.
With those three guys (Hart, Mooy, Turnbull), I’m constantly talking to them about what their ambitions are. I want to make sure that every step of the way we’re looking after the player’s interests – but also looking after the club’s interests too. Every decision will be made against that backdrop
Other contract issues will crop up with players on longer deals such as Liel Abada, Matt O’Riley and Jota who could well be subject to interest from elsewhere in the summer.
Josip Juranovic and Giorgos Giakoumakis used very different tactics to leave Celtic with the example of the Greek stiker a reminder that players under contract don’t dictate terms.
