Brendan Rodgers may sign new Celtic contract on one condition as Tottenham and EPL clause tipped by pundit
Ben Banks
4 – 5 minutes
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Tottenham have been deployed as a possible reason for a Celtic exit by Brendan Rodgers
Michael Stewart reckons Brendan Rodgers is in a great position to sign a new Celtic contract – but with the insertion of a Tottenham or Premier League get out clause.
The Hoops boss is out of contract in 2026 and has won two titles since coming back to the club he left for Leicester City in 2019. His latest Premiership crown was clinched at the weekend when thumping Dundee United and a Treble is being eyed in the Scottish Cup final vs Aberdeen.
Prominent Scottish football pundit Stewart can see Rodgers putting pen to paper on a rolling deal. With the likes of Ange Postecoglou under pressure at Tottenham, he believes a deal would be penned by Rodgers on the condition that he’d be allowed to leave if he wanted to join a Spurs sized club or bigger.
Tottenham move condition in Celtic deal
He told Premier Sports: “I was thinking about this the other week, about this whole dynamic with Brendan, going into the last year of his contract. The difference with a manager and a player is you come towards the end of a contract with a manager, it’s all about timing and what’s available. If he’s coming out of contract but there’s nothing available, is he just going to walk away from Celtic?
“I don’t think he would. So I actually think, completely dependent on what else would be available at that specific time, which is very unusual for management, there’s a good chance that he will perhaps stay on at Celtic. Maybe sign like a rolling contract and at that point, you know, be a bit more open and upfront with the club and say, look, I’m going to be staying here.
“I love it, but on the proviso that if, for example, a Tottenham or one of these top Premier League clubs come in, everybody’s aware that I would be looking to go or I might look to go abroad. It becomes very difficult to plan the time that you would leave. He signed a fixed-term contract of three years, but who knows what’s available next summer? “
Captain plea
Skipper Callum McGregor wants to see Celtic tie down their gaffer. He said: “If we can keep him for as long as we can, then we have an elite level manager. He was hugely successful in his first spell. He’s come back, done the same again. The hunger’s there. He’s an elite manager at the highest level and Celtic are lucky to have him as well.
“Since he’s come in, he’s elevated the club to a new level. You just look at the domestic success that’s happened since then and it’s been relentless. If we’re successful in the cup final, that’ll be six Trebles in nine years – that’s unheard of. We then get into the conversation that if you don’t win a Treble, it’s been a disaster. That tells you how far he’s pushed the club.
“The manager doesn’t ever want to drop below that. You see it a couple of weeks ago against St Johnstone. We actually played relatively OK in the game, but the result hurts him. Straight away, he’s on to the players, ‘we have to rectify that’. That shows you his mentality. I see how he operates. I see the way he is around the training ground and when he speaks, I’m starting to understand why he’s doing things.
“He cares so much about the players. He cares so much about his profession as well. So when I see someone like that I think, ‘that’s gold dust’.” There is a close bond between manager and captain but McGregor admits even he has no insight into Rodgers’ thinking beyond his current deal. “He doesn’t give much away,” said the midfielder. “Obviously, we do have a close relationship, not just as people but as captain and manager. But we’re not having those types of conversations. I’m his player. He can ask whatever he wants of me. I don’t want anything else other than that.”
