BROWN UNDER D-DAY
Scott to be sent Melbourne offer today after Celts give Aussies the go-ahead to talk
SCOTT BROWN will today be faced with the biggest decision of his Celtic career when he finally receives the contract offer that could take him Down Under.
Record Sport can reveal top brass from A-League new boys Western Melbourne have made contact with Parkhead chief executive Peter Lawwell in the last 24 hours to officially register their intention to open formal negotiations with the 33-year-old.
And those talks will now move swiftly with Brown being presented with the
terms of a lucrative three-year deal at some point today.
The veteran skipper – who has led Celtic to seven successive league titles – will now have to make his mind up once and for all after months contemplating the possibility of a life-changing move to the other side of the world.
While Brown waited to discover if the Aussies would win a franchise place in next season’s top flight he was offered a contract extension by Lawwell.
And he has also held a series of heart-to-heart talks with manager Brendan Rodgers. It’s understood both men have made it crystal clear they want him to stay well beyond the end of his current deal and continue to lead the club’s on-field push towards a decade of title dominance.
Sources inside Celtic Park insist the club remain confident Brown will choose
to stay for the long haul but that may depend on the numbers included in the proposed deal from Western Melbourne.
Brown is currently on a family holiday in Dubai and will join up with the rest of his team-mates there this weekend at Celtic’s warm weather training camp but all parties will now expect a definitive answer.
A source close to the situation confirmed last night: “The Australians have now officially notified Celtic of their intention to put an offer in writing to Scott.
“They have made it clear they want him to sign at the end of this season and, as he will be a free agent by then, they are entitled to have the conversation.
“But they have also been made aware that Celtic too have been in contract talks with Scott and very much want him to stay.
“One way or another it looks like decision time has now arrived.”
But while Brown must make that call Celtic are continuing to plot for the second half of the campaign with a raft of comings and goings.
As we revealed earlier this week, American youngster Timothy Weah has agreed to join on loan from PSG but is still waiting for the move to be rubber-stamped.
And Lawwell remains locked in talks with Dunajska Streda as he attempts to beat Rapid Vienna and Parma to sign 21-year-old frontman Vakoun Issouf Bayo.