Former Celtic ace Kris Commons admits Tottenham Hotspur showed a ‘strong’ interest in taking James Forrest to the Premier League during Harry Redknapp’s time in North London, speaking to the Daily Mail.
It speaks volumes about the depth and the quality available to Ange Postecoglou in the final third that one of the most productive forwards in Celtic’s recent history is far from guaranteed a place in the starting XI these days.
But, following an inconsistent and injury-hit 2021/22 campaign, 31-year-old Forrest provided a timely reminder of his talents during Saturday’s 6-1 obliteration of Hibernian at Parkhead.
A ruthless hat-trick – his first treble since 2018 – took Forrest to the magic ‘100 mark’ in his Celtic career; running up a century of goals for one of the most iconic footballing institutions on European soil.
James Forrest hits 100 goals for Scottish Premiership champions Celtic
“Along with Billy McNeill and Paul McStay, James Forrest will go down in history as one of Celtic’s great one-club men,” says Commons, who played alongside the Scotland international from 2011 to 2017.
“To score 100 goals over 14 seasons is an incredible feat. And it’s the kind of thing we hear less and less of these days.
“Despite all of the success he’s had, it’s not changed him. He’s been an incredible servant who never whimpers if he’s not involved. (Forrest) never gets too down if he’s been out injured.
“It says a lot for him that he’s not on social media drawing attention to himself. It’s just not him. Football is his life and he’s always just focused completely on it.”
During a period in which Celtic have lost so many star men to clubs on the other side of Hadrien’s Wall, Forrest’s commitment to the cause remains undiminished. The closest he came to swapping Scotland for England was during Redknapp’s time in the Tottenham Hotspur hotseat. The veteran manager admitted, via the Herald, that Spurs’ chief scout ‘drove me mad to sign him’.
Commons, however, insists that Forrest was never pushing to leave. Far from it.
“I’m not sure if James would ever have gone to England,” adds Commons. “He always seemed totally content playing for the club he supported as a boy and maybe it just wasn’t for him.
“But I’m sure he could have made a real impact down there if he’d wanted to pursue it. The interest from Tottenham when Harry Redknapp was there was strong. But James never gave any sense that he wanted to push for it.”
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