Former Celtic defender Mark Wilson has stated his belief that Mikael Lustig will remain at Parkhead.
The Swede is reportedly set to make a decision on his future this week (Scottish Sun). Sweden will face Spain in a Euro 2020 qualification match tomorrow. According to the Scottish Sun, it’s after that when Lustig will reveal what’s going on next season.
It’s well known that Lustig and current manager Neil Lennon have a positive relationship with each other. After all, Lennon signed Lustig and ultimately pushed Wilson out of the side back in 2012.
It’s been widely reported that Lennon wants to keep Lustig at the club (Scottish Sun). Wilson believes that relationship will be key, and spoke in the Sunday Post about how much that could influence his decision
“It looked like Mikael’s time was finished under Brendan, especially when Jeremy Toljan came in. But then I was at Tynecastle when Neil brought him on at 1-1 in his first game in charge.
“There were four minutes left in the game and it seemed an odd substitution to make. But Celtic won the game, and ever since then, Mikael has started most of the games.
“So I think Neil would be desperate to keep him. A lot of reports have said he wants to go back home, but I think Neil could persuade him. He brought Mikael to the club in the first place.”
Relationship is key
Wilson is pretty much spot on here. The relationship between Lennon and Lustig appears to be as strong as anyone’s in the squad. Their relationship can be traced back seven-and-a-half years, and there’s a belief there.
Lennon has such faith in Lustig and it’s clear to see. He played in 11 of Lennon’s 13 matches since taking over, and can feel content with the way he ended the season. Of course, he struggled yet again at Ibrox, but the carrot of 10-in-a-row could make him want to stay.
The general narrative, however, seems to be that this is Lustig’s decision to make. That would mean Celtic are quite happy for him to stay if he so wishes. The offer may very well be there and just waiting for Lustig to put his name to it.
The Scottish Sun also believes that Lustig has interest from back home in Sweden. That’s another extremely tempting possibility for him undoubtedly. But there are so many exciting reasons to stay at Parkhead too.
The sooner this gets sorted, the sooner Lennon will be able to understand how many players he needs in Lustig’s position. Wilson, however, could just be right about him staying on.
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