NEIL LENNON says that rewarding Callum McGregor with a new contract is the right thing to do as he revealed that talks are going positively between the club and the midfielder with a view to extending his stay with the champions.
McGregor, who has been one of Celtic’s most consistent and impressive performers throughout the last three trophy-laden seasons, signed an extension to his contract last December which ends in the summer of 2023, but Lennon says his form has been so good that he deserves another improved deal.
And the Celtic manager admits that there is also self-interest behind his wish to tie McGregor down as he looks to ward off potential suitors, with his predecessor Brendan Rodgers interested in bringing him to Leicester City.
"We're in talks at the minute, so we're hoping to get that one finalised,” Lennon said.
"There was interest in him, there was no question about that. There was no confirmation of a bid but there was definite interest. That doesn't surprise me.
“We held on to him obviously and it's important we do the right thing. The principled thing is to give him a new deal, he deserves it.”
Importantly, Lennon believes that the player himself is open to putting pen to paper on an extended contract once more. When asked if McGregor was positive about the prospect of a new contract, Lennon said: "In the talks we've had so far, yeah.
“I don't know how long he has left but we're hoping to give him an improved contract anyway.”
McGregor played a startling 69 matches for club and country last term, and has already chalked up 20 appearances so far this season, but Lennon says that his midfield machine is fully fit and firing.
“I chat about it to him,” he said. “I will always ask him how are you feeling about this game or that and maybe getting a break. He is honest with you so [resting him] is not coming into my consideration really.
“Obviously we have to balance that off because there is no question there was fatigue kicking in last year because of the volume of games.
“We left him out of the trip to Estonia, gave him a week off there and he got the benefit of that. As the season goes on and as the amount of games come think and fast I am sure at some stage we will give him a break here and there just to keep him fresh. But he is in a good place at the minute.”
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