James Forrest has helped Celtic reach the top of the Scottish Premiership table – and shone for Scotland in the UEFA Nations League win against Albania.
After spending years in the supporting cast, James Forrest is emerging as one of the main men for club and country this season.
In all competitions for Celtic, the winger has scored nine goals set up 12 more across 2018/19. He is already closing in on his best ever tally of 17, produced during a remarkable 2017/18 campaign.
And, at the 25th time of asking, Forrest finally broke the duck for his country too. The Hoops winger was in inspired form as Scotland breathed fresh life into their UEFA Nations League campaign with a 4-0 win away at 10-man Albania on Saturday, scoring twice including a brilliant volleyed finish from a Ryan Christie pass.
Now, speaking to the Herald after the game, pundit Tam McManus has lauded Forrest’s breathtaking performance – and believes his transfer value has rocketed in recent months.
“The touch to flick the ball over the defender and then the volley finish was world class and if it that was Messi or Ronaldo we would be raving about it for years,” said the former Hibernian man.
“There’s no doubt Forrest is in the £10-15million category. His ability has never been in question for me, he’s a terrific finisher. He has proven it at the highest level.”
For the first time in his Celtic career, Forrest has really established himself as The Hoops’ go-to man and he is also key to any hopes that Scotland have of beating Isreal in their UEFA Nations League decider on Tuesday.
The two teams are level at the top of their League B group on six points heading into the midweek showdown.
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