Fraser Forster wants to quit Southampton in the January window, according to Football Insider.
The reliable site claim the six-times England international, 30, is eager to leave St Mary’s Stadium after slipping to third in the goalkeeper pecking order at the club this season.
Football Insider report Championship outfit Stoke City could be ready to offer an escape route for Forster as they plot a January swoop.
Good move for Southampton?
Given that Mark Hughes rates Forster as the third best keeper at the club behind number one Alex McCarthy and deputy Angus Gunn, it makes little sense for the Saints to have such a well-paid player clogging up space in their squad and on the wage bill. Forster was the long-standing first choice until losing his starting place at the turn of the year and has subsequently been sidelined. Worse, he has been frozen out completely this season and has not made the matchday squad on a single occasion. Southampton are better off cashing in on Forster in January and using the money to strengthen other areas of the squad as they look to stave off relegation.
This Is Futbol rating 7/10
Likely to happen?
Yes. Assuming a club can be found willing to pay most, if not all, of Forster’s wages, then a winter window exit is inevitable. Southampton will want a permanent deal, although they will have to accept a major loss on a player who cost £11million when he signed from Celtic in the summer of 2014. The best-case scenario for the Saints is that one of the big clubs come in for Jack Butland, allowing Stoke to swoop for Forster as a replacement.
This Is Futbol rating 8/10