DERBY COUNTY have emerged as a contender to sign out-of-contract goalkeeper Craig Gordon. The 37-year-old has rejected the original offer from Celtic and is remaining open to talks with Celtic and Hearts but the English Premier League hopefuls are interested in signing 54-cap Gordon.
The Scottish Sun are reporting that Derby County are interested in bringing the former Sunderland stopper back to England.
The ex-£9m player but he is taking his time and assessing his options, no doubt to see where Hearts will be playing their football and if Celtic up their offer. Whilst Fraser Forster is the main target for Neil Lennon, Gordon has to also be realistic in what he is likely to receive as a 37-year-old in the post-COVID 19 marketplace. A move to England may be ideal for him to achieve his Scotland ambitions as he seeks a place in Steve Clarke’s EURO2020 squad.
Earlier in the week, Gordon spoke to Talksport and criticised the approach taken by Celtic during negotiations, which was particularly surprising given that Gordon admitted that talks were still due to take place.
✅ “I am in talks with Hearts.”
🙌 “They’re my boyhood club.”
☘️ “Negotiations with Celtic haven’t been good. There’s still chat to be had
Craig Gordon tells @DavidTannerTV he’s in talks to swap #CelticFC for #Hearts. pic.twitter.com/bOyD6hFdKK
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) June 22, 2020
BREAKING! Craig Gordon reveals negotiations with #CelticFC ‘haven’t been particularly good’
‘It could have been handled an awful lot better. There’s still a chat to be had there’
‘It [the pay gap]was enormous. It was way short and that’s what I told them’
– Via @talkSPORT pic.twitter.com/pN6X5nd934
— PLZ Soccer (From 🏠) (@PLZSoccer) June 22, 2020
Whilst Celtic are keen to re-sign Fraser Forster, they cannot force Gordon to postpone his own future while they wait on Southampton to open up negotiations. Going onto Talksport might annoy the club but Gordon deserves to find the best possible deal for him; although it was a shame for him to publicly discuss the deal that the Scottish Champions offered.
Celtic should stand by Gordon and offer him a deal instead of trying to prolong the negotiations until they have assurances that Forster might return. However, should the Englishman arrive, the club should offer Gordon a loan exit.
Gordon is a top athlete and whilst Celtic gave him the opportunity to play at a top level again, he is a brilliant goalkeeper and there are no guarantees that Forster will remain at the club.
