New deal for Lustig

CELTIC received a major boost last night after right-back Mikael Lustig pledged his future to the Scottish champions until 2019. The Swedish international, who joined the Parkhead club in 2012, had been in the final months of his

existing contract at Celtic. Talks about a new deal had been ongoing for some time and yesterday the club announced the versatile 30-year-old defender had put pen to paper on an extension keeping him in Glasgow for another two years. A club statement said: ‘Celtic are delighted to announce Mikael Lustig has signed a contract extension which will see him remain at the club until at least May 2019. ‘He has become an integral part of the team’s success over the past few seasons. ‘While he has played the majority of his games for club and country at right-back, Mikael has also shown himself to be equally adept playing in a central defensive role, where his experience has proved beneficial to the team and will continue to do so in the future.’ Since his arrival in Glasgow following a spell with Norwegian side Rosenborg, Lustig (right) has won four league titles, one Scottish Cup and has two League Cup winners’ medals. He has made 166 appearances, scoring 13 goals. Lustig has made no secret of the fact he is content with life in Glasgow and declared recently that he wanted to remain playing under Brendan Rodgers for the long haul. ‘I want to stay,’ he said. ‘I’m really happy here and have been here for five years. I’ve loved every minute of my time at Celtic.’ Rodgers rates Lustig as one of the key members of his team. ‘He’s an important player for us, one of the pillars of the group,’ said Rodgers before Lustig signed his new deal. ‘In any squad, there are four or five players and he’s definitely one. He’s a great character and his commitment to training is fantastic.’ Meanwhile, former Celtic star Billy Stark says he expects Rodgers to send out a full-strength team against Albion Rovers in their Scottish Cup tie on Sunday. Stark, now assistant boss with the League One side, said: ‘They’ve won the League Cup, the league is a foregone conclusion, so the Scottish Cup is the big one. That’s why I don’t think they’ll take any kind of risks on Sunday.’