Swedish international Mikael Lustig looked like he had played his last game for Celtic.
The right-back was in tears post-match after Celtic defeated Hearts to win the Scottish Cup. Lustig was clearly emotional before the Hoops went up to lift the trophy. And when he did, he held it aloft with captain Scott Brown – signifying that his days here could be numbered.
But that was also before Neil Lennon was confirmed to have been offered the job permanently. Brown said post-match that the players only found out on social media too (BBC, 18:30). So this could prove to have a big change in Lustig’s situation.
That’s because Lennon has, in the past, confirmed that he wants to keep him at the club. Speaking in the Scottish Sun, Lennon had this to say about the veteran several weeks ago.
“I know the personality of the player, he is very important in the dressing room. First and foremost, he is a quality player. He is still contributing immensely to what we want to do here.
“He’s a brilliant player and a brilliant boy. I would like to keep him. Mika will know more about his role as he gets older but as a player he is very important to what has been done here over the last eight years.
“I had to get his head back in place a little bit when I came in. He was maybe looking elsewhere and we wanted to get him back into the team.”
Don’t be surprised
Lustig has always been one of Lennon’s favourites. He effectively made him his first-choice right-back over Jeremy Toljan after just several games in charge. Toljan has been a massive disappointment since signing on loan from Borussia Dortmund in January, and it’s given Lustig a big chance to stake a claim for a new contract.
There have been no fresh reports of talks being positive. But at the same time, there also hasn’t been any confirmation of Lustig departing either.
If Lennon said earlier this month that he wants to keep him, surely it’s all down to what Lustig wants at this stage. It’s hardly likely that Lennon has had a huge change of heart here. Why would he? He continues to play him in every big game, and Lustig hasn’t been making the errors he had been under Brendan Rodgers.
In saying all of that, Lustig still doesn’t have the pace or quality to be first-choice anymore. Considering Anthony Ralston failed to take his chance with both Toljan and Cristian Gamboa set to depart, Celtic still need signings in this area.
Manny Perez will of course return from his loan spell in the USL with North Carolina FC. But is he able to cut it as an alternative at the moment?
In any case, don’t be surprised if Lennon keeps Lustig on. He clearly wants to.
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