Former Celtic favourite Fraser Forster is being tipped for a sensational move to Manchester United as his deal with Southampton comes to an end. The 33-year-old has forced his way back into the first team at St Mary’s and a string of impressive displays have sparked interest in the ex-England Internationalist.
Celtic have been heavily linked with Forster given his longstanding history with the club; however, Joe Hart has established himself as Celtic’s first pick goalie meaning that there will be no dramatic return to Glasgow for Forster when his deal expires. Pundit Noel Whelan has said that he thinks Manchester United and Tottenham should move quickly to sign Forster as an understudy to David De Gea and Hugo Lloris respectively.
Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan told the pair to do a good bit of business ahead of huge summers and sign the ex-Celt.
“Forster has been a fantastic goalkeeper for a long, long time now. He’s been incredible, and he’s got that England call-up to back that up now as well.
“I can see him at Tottenham or Man United, absolutely. Good, English goalkeepers who know the Premier League – they’re hard to come by. Him being a free agent just makes that deal even more tempting.”
The fact that Forster is English makes him even more valuable due to the rules regulating home-grown players in Premier League teams. Celtic certainly propelled Forster into the Premier League but the return under Neil Lennon was a shot in the arm for Forster’s career.
Forster spent a successful 2019/20 season on loan with Lennon’s Celtic, which was cut short due to COVID-19; however, Lennon had hoped to re-sign him again. For one reason or another, this did not transpire and Celtic instead went out and bought Barkas from AEK Athens. Barkas’ season was a disaster and having lost Craig Gordon on the gamble that Forster would sign, Celtic really missed the Englishman.
