Celtic open talks with Bhoy Bain
Talks set for loan star permanent deal and Hoops close in on Ajer extension
CELTIC are ready to open official talks with Scott Bain over a full-time deal.
And Parkhead chiefs are also closing in on their new agreement with Kristoffer Ajer.
Bain is set to have his dream of
CALLUM McGREGOR reckons Scott Brown ticks all the boxes when it comes to the Player of the Year contenders but admits the Celtic skipper might have a hard time getting the votes.
The Hoops captain is relishing his testimonial season and produced another star turn as the Parkhead men got back to domestic duty with the 3-0 win against Ross County on Saturday.
Brown was on the end of another crunching tackle – with Andrew Davies becoming the third player in a month to see red for a challenge on the skipper.
Aberdeen’s Sam Cosgrove and Cedric Kipre of Motherwell were also sent packing in recent weeks after going in on the Hoops hero and McGregor admitted his captain has a bullseye on his back.
The playmaker insisted Brown should be a shoo-in to be listed for the awards at the end of the term – but might miss out because he’s the man rivals love to hate.
He said: “Scott would be right up there. He sets the tone every week. James Forrest has had a great season as well.
“So it would probably be a toss-up between those two – mind you, Scott will never get voted! “Maybe he needs to calm down a bit. No, he’s been excellent for us and we’re delighted to have him. “If you ask anybody, they will respect what he’s done at this club. To be at that level for 10-plus years is incredible. He’s a massive inspiration and a great example for our boys. “A lot of people underestimate how good a player he is. Everybody mentions the work rate and the intensity of every- thing he does but he’s a really good footballer as well.
“You see that in Champions League games when his pass success rate is always massive. It’s credit to just how good a footballer he is.”
McGregor told rivals to keep on kicking Brown if they want – because the skipper will only keep coming back for more.
The recent raft of reds suggest the Celtic star is a marked man in Scotland. Brown might be a wind-up merchant but rivals are falling right in to his trap.
McGregor said: “It’s obviously not working, is it? They keep getting boys sent off.
“Maybe they are trying to target him and wind him up but you can see the mature side of him. He’s just trying to play his game and it ends up that they make the mistake, end up getting sent off and their team gets punished because of it.
“He just seems to be getting better and better – fitness levels, strength, everything. He’s a really, really top player and an example for the boys in the changing room to follow.
“He’s been doing it for many, many years now at Celtic but especially the last two seasons. He has really kicked on again. He’s a massive inspiration for the boys on the pitch.
“To see him getting kicked that many times, people trying to wind him up, and he always seems to come out on top. That’s just Broony, the way he is.”
Brown has a habit of laughing off the tough challenges but he wasn’t smiling after taking one in
the tackle on Saturday when Davies went right over the ball and caught the captain in the privates.
But McGregor admitted it’ll take more than a boot in the unmentionables to halt the Celtic leader as he led his side to a 3-0 cruise against County.
He said: “I never checked them or anything! I don’t know. You will just need to trust him on that.
“I think it was a bad one, from what the boys were saying.
“So the referee made a good decision. From then on, they were hanging on but that’s credit to us. We were keeping the same momentum and tempo and getting the goals.”
McGregor slotted in at left-back against the Staggies with Kieran Tierney out injured and he enjoyed a productive afternoon.
The 24-year-old has relished his step up to the Scotland squad with his club and country bosses making the most of his versatility.
McGregor said: “The Scotland stuff was excellent. To finish off with a win in Hungary was great. We got back to business here and getting a comfortable win was great.
“It’s always good when the managers like you, you play and feel a part of it. You can only take confidence from that and try to take your game on to another level.
“I’m happy to at left-back if asked but we have a lot of good players. I can play in that position which helps us out when KT is injured.”
Tierney sat out Saturday but Celtic are getting key men back fit and firing again with the likes of Stuart Armstrong, Patrick Roberts and Leigh Griffiths all back in action.
Celtic are just three wins from claiming the title again and the Scottish Cup semi-final showdown with Rangers is less than two weeks away.
And McGregor reckons the Hoops are in great shape.
He said: “The side looked fresh. With a lot of good attacking players in the team, there are threats from all over the pitch.
“We have good combinations as well. It was excellent, we had some good play and we got some good goals. We probably could have had a few more as well.
“You’ve got really top players not playing, either on the bench or in the stand. So it keeps you fresh and keeps you hungry to be in the team.
“If you’ve got to go and play leftback then you do that. I’m just delighted to be in the team. Being part of this team is excellent. There is always a real feel-good factor about the place.
“Hopefully we can kick on towards the end of the season.”