Davie Hay: Kris has put Celtic on clock as deal talks drag on

Because of the Bosman ruling, with every day that passes the power shifts further towards the player, who will be free to negotiate with other clubs from the end of December.

It's ironic that it was because he was coming to the end of his contract with Derby that Celtic managed to get Kris for just £300,000.

But while they believed that made them big winners, the same situation in reverse could see them losing even more in terms of his value to the team these days.

Neil Lennon certainly knows his worth, having watched him score 31 goals for his Celtic side last season.

He will also know the kind of money he is on, and what he is looking for now.

And while some might consider the prospect of moving from Celtic to a club at the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship would not appeal to Kris, if Neil can kickstart a revival at Bolton, who knows where they will be sitting by the time the Janauary window is open.

You also have to remember Kris has already spent a chunk of his career playing in that division.

The bottom line, however, is that a player in his position and at his age will be looking for security, which is another way of saying, if the price is right, anything is possible.

There has been a lot of speculation that he might be offered the chance to eventually combine some coaching with playing if he signs a new deal at Celtic.

Neil spoke about that last year, and Ronny Deila has also alluded to it.

But, despite now being over 31, after the season Kris has just enjoyed his mind will still very much be focused on playing.

The fact Ronny left him out of the starting line-up for the Champions League play- off matches against Maribor will have hurt, even though the manager has since said he wants to build a team around him.

All of these things, plus how his family feels about remaining in Glasgow, will be important in the decision Kris now makes.

However, let's not try to pretend that getting what he believes he is worth will be at the crux of the contract negotiations which have been going on for several months.

The fact they have not been resolved indicates to me there is still a significant gap between what Kris wants and what the club are prepared to offer.

From Celtic's perspective, he is three years older than when he signed his last deal.

And while he had an exceptional season last time out, the year before that was nothing like as productive.

He has yet to be quite as influential or productive this season.

But there is absolutely no chance Kris will be giving anything less than 100% just because his contract talks have not yielded what he wants.

There would be absolutely no point in him going down that particular road. Quite the opposite.

The better he plays, the better the offers which he will attract from other clubs.

I am sure Celtic are doing everything they can to get a deal done, and it may be yet another example of the need to tweak their payment policy, even just a little, to ensure they don't lose another very important player.

They didn't do that when Gary Hooper's contract was up for renewal, and they paid the price as they did not get anything like his true worth in a transfer fee and he has proved so difficult to replace. Ironically, it was Kris's goals which helped counter the loss of Gary last season, and there is no doubt players who can put the ball in the net are special cases as their value has a premium attached.

Should this have been recognised sooner and the contract situation resolved, one way or the other, long before now?

It's a tough one to answer as every case is different. What is not in doubt is the fact the Bosman ruling carries more and more power into the hands of players the nearer they get to the end of their current contract.

Not speaking about Kris, but about players in general, they can talk all they want about being happy playing for a particular team or under a certain manager.

But the bottom line is the bottom line - and that's how much money is on the table.

Sometimes a club simply can't make an offer which a player will find acceptable because they want to move on.

I am sure that Kris, or at least his representatives, will already know what is on offer elsewhere.

Can Celtic match that? Should they try?

The fans will insist they give it their best shot as there is no denying Kris remains one of the most influential players at the club.

But, because of the ticking clock, the ball is very much in the player's court.

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