Chris Sutton believes that the new contracts handed out at Celtic are in anticipation of new arrivals.
Within the space of a week Callum McGregor, Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda signed up to new contracts that will be on significantly improved terms. The captain, top scorer and a World Cup goalscorer all being rewarded for achieving success.
Supporters are looking closely for new signings, before the transfer of Jota there were strong suggestions that Brendan Rodgers had £30m available but so far under £4m has been spent on two players at the early stages of their careers.
On Wednesday Celtic take on Yokohama F Marinos with Rodgers in charge for the first time.
The result is largely immaterial but without Jota, Aaron Mooy, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston the new manager will get a glimpse at the depth he has in his squad
McGregor, Kyogo and Maeda will all feature in Japan with Sutton telling Daily Record readers that there is more to come on the back of the new contracts:
The captain is such an important influence at the club, it makes sense to make sure he’s happy. There also could be a need to raise some of the wages for the big players, because others will be on the way.
You can’t have new faces coming on on high salaries when the ones who have been successful in the past are left behind. The question now turns to just who will be signed.
Players such as Liel Abada, Reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley have all been very successful signings but remain on their initial contracts.
There is no rush to give these players new deals but if there are some big arrivals in the pipeline it will become more of a priority to get the trio listed above onto improved contracts.
