Chris Sutton says Scott Brown "must stay" at Celtic regardless of whether the Hoops win the Scottish title or not.
Influential captain Brown's contract expires at the end of the season, with some now wondering if the 35-year-old's trophy-laden Celtic career is starting to wind down.
Sutton believes losing Brown in the summer would be "crazy", with so much "uncertainty around Celtic and huge upheaval looming in the coming months".
Speaking in his column for the Daily Record, Sutton said: "Scott Brown must stay. Regardless of whether Celtic win or lose the race for Ten In A Row.
"The captain was left out of the starting line-up for last weekend’s Old Firm game against Rangers.
"He’s been sat on the sidelines in other recent matches as Ismaila Soro has taken his place and really cemented a spot in the side.
"It all points to a career winding down. An inspirational skipper who is coming to the end of the road with a contract expiring at the end of the season.
"But I’ll tell you one thing. With so much uncertainty around Celtic and huge upheaval looming in the coming months, it would be crazy not to have Brown around that dressing room for 2021-22.
"I’m not saying he should be playing 20 or 25 games. It might only be five or 10. As he turns 36 years of age of June, it might not be any.
"But I still feel he needs to be there and there’s a reason for coming to this definitive conclusion.
"It was actually by sitting down to have a think about what is needed at Celtic? What needs to change? Who are the personnel and individuals who can be relied upon going forward and what is required?
"Nick Hammond has a huge job on his hands and there is bound to be a squad overhaul.
"But the more I tried to work out who should stay and who may go, the more confusing the entire picture became.
"It starts at the top. Do we actually know for sure if Neil Lennon is going to be boss for the beginning of next season?
"Neil has been given the backing of Dermot Desmond and it remains his job.
"You’d imagine it may take a blistering second-half of the season with a success in the Scottish Cup at the very least to give him any real chance of extending his reign beyond this season.
"It’s doable, but unless you can say so for 100 per cent right now, it surely makes it tough to start plotting now for summer transfers, doesn’t it?"
