Thursday 2 May 2019 10:42, UK
Celtic have taken up their option to extend winger Scott Sinclair's contract by another year, meaning he will remain at the club next season.
The former Manchester City player - who has scored 17 times for the Scottish champions this season - could have left as a free agent this summer.
Having moved to Glasgow from Aston Villa in 2016, however, interim manager Neil Lennon confirmed on Thursday morning that Celtic have chosen to secure Sinclair for the 2019/20 campaign.
Lennon said: "Scott will be here for another year. He's a very good player and he's been a good player since he walked in the door.
"He's made a big contribution in the goals column and that experience and football intelligence is always important to have around.
"There's a familiarity with Scott. Going into the Champions League qualifiers next season, he'll be one we don't have to go and replace.
"He's played a lot of games this season so I wouldn't say he's struggled for time on the pitch. Under me, he's played maybe played 75 to 80 per cent of the games.
"He maybe hasn't hit the heights of his first season but that was a stellar season and it's very difficult to replicate that year on year.
"We know what we've got with Scott - he's an excellent player and always a threat."
Sinclair is expected to feature for Celtic as they look for the point they need to claim an eighth successive title against Aberdeen this weekend.
Full-back Kieran Tierney could also start having not featured since his team's last trip to Pittodrie on April 14.
Lennon admits, however, he could be a doubt for Scotland's games with Cyprus and Belgium in June given he needs a double hernia operation.
He added: "Kieran's training so he's in contention to start. He's had advice from the specialist and we're going to manage him through now until the end of the season hopefully.
"I think it'll be very, very difficult for him to go with Scotland. We're managing him on a daily basis at the minute.
"He is going to require surgery and the sooner the season finishes and he gets the surgery done, the better it will be for him going forward."
Leigh Griffiths, meanwhile, could play again before the end of the season after missing the last five months due to personal issues.
He went through fitness tests last week and Lennon said: "They went well and now he's out running on the grass doing a little bit more conditioning work.
"He's making good progress now in terms of getting up to full fitness. He won't play this weekend but he has another couple of weeks of work before we can throw him in with the rest of the squad."
