The trip to Australia will give Neil Lennon a chance to discuss the future with players as he makes his plans for the season ahead. The manager is hoping to persuade both Emilio Izaguirre and Beram Kayal to agree to stay on with new deals on offer. sign new deals during the upcoming tour of Australia. Izaguirre is supposed to be a Manchester United target, according to the player, and Kayal has been linked with Liverpool and Valencia.
Lennon said: "We've opened preliminary talks with Kayal's people. He knows I want to keep him and he's making the right noises about staying. That's great news. It's the same for Izaguirre. Going to Australia on tour this week will give me the chance to sit down with Beram. I'll need to sit down with Beram, look him in the eye and get a feel for what he's thinking. He knows I have his best interests at heart."
Lennon can see benefits for both players if they stay at Parkhead while admitting it would be difficult to prevent a move if a top-four Premier League club made the call. He went on: "I can help them progress. They have the supporters on their side and a great affiliation with them. They would struggle to get that at many other clubs. I'm sure there are Premiership clubs that could offer them better deals but at this stage of their careers money shouldn't be that important. There is no need for them to rush off and go to the Premiership just yet. They can stay here a year or two and then look at things after that. My whole point to them will be that unless it's a top-four club in England then I don't think there are many better places to be than here."