Celtic manager Neil Lennon says that the club may speak with Southampton about extending Fraser Forster and Mo Elyounoussi’s loan deals with the club.
The Scottish Premiership has been suspended and if the league ended up being played deep into the summer, Elyounoussi and Forster may have to return to Southampton due to the end of their loans.
Speaking to The Scotsman, Lennon said:
This has thrown up all sorts of interesting quirks and questions.
I would need to speak to Peter [Lawwell, Celtic chief executive] or Michael Nicholson [Celtic secretary] on that. It’s a hypothetical at the minute but it’s another thing I will now have to think about. There may be a conversation with Southampton on that.
If it comes to down to the league being played in June and July, we feel that Southampton should sanction a double deal to extend Forster and Elyounoussi’s deals so that they can stay at Celtic.
The pair are not needed at Southampton, as shown by Ralph Hasenhuttl’s decision to let them go initially, and Celtic could need them to see out the season.
This is an incredibly difficult situation that is affecting people across the globe and a decision like this seems trivial, but it is one that still needs to be made by Southampton.
It could mean, however, that Celtic need to agree to keep paying a portion of the pair’s wages for the extension of their loans, so that it does not cost Southampton more money to allow this to potentially happen.
If Celtic are able to do that, letting them stay at the Scottish club could be the best move for all parties involved. Forster and Elyounoussi could struggle to even make the matchday squad if they returned to Southampton, so them staying at Celtic and playing regular football sounds like it could be the right decision to make.
