After drawn out contract negotiations finally leading to a 2-year bumper deal for Scottish internationalist, Stuart Armstrong, the Celtic support have broken into a debate over whether or not the Celtic higher-ups should allow the central midfielder to leave or not.
Rumours of interest in Armstrong over the summer transfer window have been in full force, prompting this discussion amongst Celtic fans and Scottish football connoisseurs as to whether Celtic should cash in on the player or not. With Armstrong, after long winded contract negotiations, eventually signing a two-year deal for the Bhoys, it is believed by much of the support that the relatively short contract is an indication that he will be sold next summer at the very earliest – maybe even January.
With the successes of Wanyama, Forster and Van Dijk to name a few, it’s easy to see why Armstrong may have been reluctant to sign a long-term contract, especially with Southampton rumored to be heavily interested in his signature.
The fiercer competition teamed with the higher wages he would no doubt receive makes the switch a tempting offer for the 25-year-old central midfielder. The transfer fee most recently rumored would suggest he would not be leaving Parkhead for any less than £8 million. With Van Dijk being valued by many at £40 million+ it is more than likely that Celtic would be unwilling to sell without a decent sell-on clause to ensure Celtic will benefit from the deal in the future.
In addition, the signing of 21-year-old central midfielder Olivier Ntcham for £4.5 million so far proving to be a great piece of business would give hope to supporters that if Armstrong was to leave and the transfer fee was to be added directly to Rodgers’ transfer budget that he would continue to bring in young, promising, talented players.
With other options at central midfield including the likes of captain Scott Brown, Callum Mcgregor, Nir Bitton and Tom Rogic, some fans may believe this to be the optimal time to cash in on the player whilst other options exist within the squad.
Leave your thoughts below on whether or not you feel Celtic would be getting the better of the deal should Armstrong leave for a fee in the range of £8-10 million or whether you feel he should be valued higher or lower.
Ryan Fotheringham
