Christopher Jullien has dismissed questions on his Celtic future as he looked to reaffirm his goals for next season.
Jullien has been crocked since an injury against Dundee United back in December. The big Frenchman won’t be back in time for the new season, but will be expecting to play a big role from September onward.
Despite his fitness problems, Jullien remains one of the more popular players amongst Celtic supporters. Since signing from Toulouse in the summer fo 2019, he’s proved himself to be one of the club’s top defenders.
And yesterday as he took part in a beIN Sports interview back in his homeland, he was bizarrely asked about a potential move to Marseille. However, thankfully, Jullien showed where his loyalties lie as he refused to entertain it and instead talked up another treble next season.
“A move to Marseille? I don’t know what the future holds. At the moment I’m at Celtic. I have two years left on my contract and an injury that I have to get out of. I am French, I don’t have to come back to France.
“In January and February we didn’t get good results. It hurt to see that. We had lots of discussions with the coach and the group, from playing in front of a full Celtic Park to closed doors didn’t help. It could have been a historic season, unfortunately we didn’t achieve that.
“Next season we want to win everything. It’s non-negotiable at Celtic.”
Christopher Jullien view a boost; Celtic can’t afford to let other key players go this summer
The question about a move to Marseille appeared to be a totally random one. There are no reports that the Ligue 1 team is interested in Jullien, so there’s nothing to even discuss. Jullien making it clear he doesn’t need to return to France is also a nice boost for supporters.
It’s clear he’s anything but homesick. The big centre-back has his sights set on yet another treble after managing to complete the feat last year.
And Celtic will surely have no urge to see Jullien depart either. We already look like losing Kris Ajer, Odsonne Edouard, and potentially Ryan Christie in the summer as it stands. All three men will be into the final year of their contracts by then, giving Celtic little wiggle room to get top dollar for them beyond that.
We can’t afford to sell any more of our big hitters this year. If Jullien were to depart, our centre-back options will have been decimated. Remember, Shane Duffy will be leaving to go back down to Brighton too.
So Jullien having eyes on what he could achieve next season at Celtic is what we’re after. The last thing we want is unnecessary speculation ahead of what’s going to be a hectic summer as it is.
Hopefully, Chris can get himself back fit and firing ahead of the new campaign.
In other news, Peter Lawwell reportedly played a key role in Jesse Marsch’s managerial career.
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