Southampton’s Fraser Forster has praised Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths.
Rangers’ Clint Hill in action with Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths
Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster has told the Glasgow Evening Times that he thinks Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths is a ‘fantastic’ player.
The league season may be over, but there is a huge match at Hampden Park this weekend as Scotland host England in a 2018 World Cup qualifier.
England’s Fraser Forster during training
The Three Lions hammered Scotland 3-0 at Wembley back in November, and will be hoping to complete a double over Gordon Strachan’s men this weekend.
One player who may be pushing to feature is Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster, who will be challenging Joe Hart, Tom Heaton and Jack Butland for the No. 1 jersey this weekend.
Forster, a former Celtic player, will have knowledge of some of Scotland’s players, and he has picked out one player he thinks could hurt England on Saturday evening.
England’s Fraser Forster
Striker Leigh Griffiths has hit 85 goals in just 142 games for Celtic since arriving from Wolverhampton Wanderers in January 2014, and is expected to feature for Scotland against England.
The 26-year-old has though had to deal with a reduced role under Brendan Rodgers at Celtic, starting just 15 league games due to Moussa Dembele’s heroics this past season.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers and Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths
Now, Forster – who spent just a matter of months alongside Griffiths at Celtic Park – has warned his England team-mates to be aware of Griffiths’ quality, telling the Glasgow Evening Times that he thinks Griffiths is a fantastic player.
“Leigh is a fantastic player,” said Forster. “He has got pace to stretch defences but he can also score from anywhere. He has got a great left foot and can hit target from outside or inside the box. He’s a very tough player to play against. It just takes half a chance or a split-second and he can punish you. He is definitely one player we need to really concentrate on to make sure he doesn’t get that chance.”
“You have make sure you are switched on the whole time when you are playing. He has a very short back-lift when he is shooting so he can get the ball away quickly. As a defender or a back four, you can think you have got him in a good position. Then, in a split-second, he can shift the ball and hit it. That is something that is always going to test people,” he added.
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