Kris Commons shares what he’s heard about Celtic signing Forster

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Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster is on loan at Celtic.

Pundit Kris Commons has told The Scottish Daily Mail (16/12, The Verdict, p16) that he’s heard Celtic are ‘hopeful’ of structuring a deal to sign Fraser Forster.

Back in August, Neil Lennon decided that Scott Bain and Craig Gordon weren’t quite of the quality he wanted between the sticks, and made a big move to address the matter.

Celtic swooped to sign goalkeeper Forster on loan from Southampton, bringing him back to Parkhead until the end of the season.

Forster, 31, had slipped down the pecking order at Southampton, so unsurprisingly jumped at the chance to head back up to Glasgow to re-join Celtic.

The giant goalkeeper spent two seasons on loan at Celtic before joining permanently in 2012, spending another two years with the club before leaving for Southampton in 2014.

With six caps for England, Forster clearly has quality, and whilst he didn’t have much chance to show that at Southampton in recent years, he has certainly done it with Celtic.

Forster has been sensational for Celtic, turning in notably excellent displays against Lazio and Rangers to make himself a Bhoys hero all over again.

Of course, fans want to see him sign permanently, and Commons has admitted that he thinks it would be priority number one for Celtic, believing a permanent deal for Forster would be a ‘blockbuster’ addition.

Commons added that he has heard Celtic are hopeful of structuring a deal, as it’s Forster’s wages rather than a transfer fee are the problem, but it could still happen.

“It would send shockwaves through Scottish football if Celtic could clinch a deal to sign Fraser Forster permanently,” said Commons. “It would be a blockbuster signing and a huge statement of intent from the club. It should be a matter of urgency to get it done as soon as possible.”

“The stumbling block isn’t necessarily the transfer fee. Celtic have shown with the likes of Odsonne Edouard and Christopher Jullien that they don’t mind spending a few quid on the right player. The issue has always been the fact that they just can’t match Forster’s basic wage at Southampton, which is in the region of £70,000 per week. But it’s my understanding that Celtic are hopeful of structuring a deal to make it happen,” he added.