Chelsea target Gordon seals new Celtic deal

Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon has signed a new three-year contract.

The Ladbrokes Premiership leaders opened talks with Gordon after rejecting several offers from Chelsea during the January transfer window.

The 34-year-old told his club’s official website: ‘It’s taken a little while after the interest in the January window but it’s good to finally get it done and concentrate on the rest of the season.’

Gordon’s previous contract expired in the summer but Celtic had an option to extend it for a year. The new agreement means Gordon is committed to the Scottish champions until 2020.

The Scotland international said: ‘It was quite stop-start, there was a lot of things going on within the club, it wasn’t a continuous thing, it wasn’t like we were talking about it for months.

‘There were two or three occasions when we sat down and talked about it, it was fairly straightforward in the end, I wanted to stay.’

Gordon’s Celtic career looked in doubt in August when Brendan Rodgers signed his former Swansea goalkeeper, Dorus de Vries, from Nottingham Forest.

De Vries went into the team for five matches but Gordon won his place back and has kept it ever since.

The former Hearts and Sunderland player said: ‘I think it’s the same for every player when a new manager comes in, you want to prove your worth to the team. You also want to stay in the team and it’s taken a little while for me to do that and to be able to adapt to the way he wants me to play.

Thankfully I’ve been able to do that and hopefully I’ll be able to continue to do that over the next three years.

Hopefully that’s not the end either; I’m hoping to play on as long as I possibly can. There may be one contract beyond this but it’s good for the next three years to know that stability is there and I’m going to be here fighting for trophies.’