YESTERDAY Fraser Forster was on the verge of breaking Celtic supporters hearts when news came through that the 32-year-old Englishman would not be returning ahead of the 10IAR season. The story appeared to be that a deal was in place to bring Forster back but the keeper would rather remain at Southampton and force his way into the first team after a meeting with Ralph Hassenhuttl.
However, the news that has emerged late last night is that there was still hope for the England international to complete a transfer to Neil Lennon’s side. The Scottish Sun is reporting that a deal is being held up by haggling over the price with Southampton.
Forster is keen for the move to transpire and Celtic themselves are determined to sign Forster but will look at alternatives should no deal transpire. The report cites a Southampton source that claims that the club are willing to sell Forster.
Forster was unwilling to return should it be a temporary move and would rather remain at Southampton if this is the only alternative but appears to still be in favour of a Celtic permanent move.
The Englishman is on a reported £90k-per-week and Celtic would need to pay £5m on top of that as well as making him one of the club’s top earners. A deal could yet be done but Celtic if Fraser Forster is to return to the club, it will be on a permanent basis and the club need to pay up for his services.
Meanwhile, the Daily Record reports that Neil Lennon is confident that Forster will return after what has been a turbulent day on the transfer front for Celtic. This will certainly have plenty more twists and turns before we reach a conclusion of this year’s edition of transfer saga.
