The Celtic future of Scott Sinclair is in the hands of chief executive Peter Lawwell as he decides whether to take up the one-year option to extend the attacker’s contract, according to the Scottish Sun.
The newspaper claim Sinclair, 29, could leave Parkhead on a summer free transfer as the club hierarchy led by Lawwell ponder triggering the extension clause.
The Sun report the winger is one of Celtic’s biggest earners after being signed from Aston Villa in the summer of 2016 and is admired by new manager Neil Lennon.
OPINION
It would be a major surprise if Celtic don’t activate the year’s extension option, as Sinclair is too valuable to lose. Sure, he has not hit the heights over the last two seasons of his debut campaign, when he was the 25-goal Scottish player of the year. But the winger is a class act who wins matches when he is at his best. His record this season – 17 goals and six assists from 45 matches – is very impressive and it is little wonder Lennon wants to keep a solid professional who has been an integral member of Celtic’s total dominance of Scottish football. The champions surely have no choice but to extend Sinclair’s contract, as he does not turn 30 until later this month and still has plenty to offer. Should the club decide to let him go, he would be an extremely attractive free agent, and there would be truckloads of suitors eager to land a player who could probably still command a £3million-plus fee on the open market.