Celtic need to tie James Forrest down to a new deal soon.
James Forrest reiterated his importance to Celtic this past weekend.
The 27-year-old attacker scored a hat-trick as Celtic edged out Partick Thistle at Parkhead to reach the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup.
In doing so, Forrest has taken his goal tally for the season to 16 in all competitions but, with his contract expiring in 18 months, it’s abundantly obvious what Brendan Rodgers and Peter Lawwell need to do.
It looks like the Celtic academy product is this season’s edition of Stuart Armstrong, who scored 17 in all competitions last season and, like Armstrong during the summer, Rodgers could face a fight to keep Forrest in Glasgow beyond this season without an extension.
Failure to tie him down to a new deal will almost definitely result in speculation about his future during the off season and Celtic don’t need another transfer saga, with Moussa Dembele already set to be the subject of one.
Fortunately for the Hoops, signing him up to an extension likely won’t be difficult, after Forrest claimed to The Scottish Sun last month that he wanted to stay at Parkhead for as long as possible.
But the longer Celtic go without offering him one, the higher the risk that he will feel under-appreciated and sorting out his future as soon as possible seems like the smart move here.
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