Robbie Crawford has penned a new one-year deal with Motherwell - and boss Graham Alexander is hopeful Stephen O’Donnell won't be far behind.
The Fir Park full-back, who became a dad for the second time on Thursday just a day after returning from international duty, has excelled with his hometown club since moving from Kilmarnock.
And Alexander hopes home comforts will be a deciding factor for the 28-year-old whose contract runs out in two months.
He said: “We’re quite close. He has been really positive. Being away with Scotland stalled it but the talks have been really encouraging.
“We want Stephen to stay. We’ve made it clear how important he is to us as a player and a personality.
“He is a leader and has been captain since Declan Gallagher hasn’t been in the team and has shown another side of himself in leadership.
“He wasn’t in on Thursday as his wife was having a baby, which went great thankfully. He obviously wanted to take care of his wife and little girl but he’s also keen to get back involved straight away.
“We will pick those talks up again after the Scottish Cup tie.”
While talks with O’Donnell have been positive, Alexander admits he’s “realistic” on Gallagher’s future.
Record Sport revealed Aberdeen were keen on the Scotland international defender who is out of contract in the summer.
Cardiff City, Hearts and Dundee United are also interested.
Alexander said: “I am quite realistic. We had a great conversation towards the end of January about staying until the end of the season and giving everything he has got.
“I know he has suitors. We offered him a good deal here and a platform to continue his progress and be around the Scotland squad.
“But we know there’s clubs out there that can pay him a lot more than we can.”
Crawford’s new deal takes him through to the summer of 2022.
And Alexander said: “Robbie has been an integral part of the team since we came in.
"He has proven he has the ability, commitment and character to continue his form with us.
"We’re very happy he’s agreed to stay and we feel it’s another positive step in our plan for the future."
