Chris Sutton has been raging over claims that Celtic star James Forrest would struggling to make it in the Premier League.
Forrest, 27, has been in stunning form for the Bhoys lately and he even helped Scotland win promotion in the UEFA Nations League with a hat-trick against Israel earlier this week.
Former Hoops striker Sutton believes that Forrest is better than Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser, who has played well south of the border this season, and has hit out over claims that the Parkhead ace would struggle in England.
“Was that a joke, he couldn’t play in the English Premier League?” Sutton said on Scottish Football Extra of BT Sport 1 on Saturday morning when hearing a question about Forrest.
“If we were having a straight pick, Fraser or Forrest, who would we pick? Ryan Fraser’s valued at what, £25million at Bournemouth?”
“James Forrest is every bit as good as Ryan Fraser, if not better.
“It’s insulting, I’m sick of it from down south.
“How many players do you want me to tell you he’s better than in the English Premier League? It’s out of order, it’s insulting, it’s rubbish.”
OPINION
Sutton is bang on here. When you say that a player could make it in the Premier League, you don’t mean with someone like Manchester City or Liverpool, you mean that he could make it in a team that is outside of the top-six. There are 14 teams in the Premier League that Forrest could play for right now based on his current form. The 27-year-old’s run of solid performances is no fluke as he has been doing it all year and there’s no doubt that he could play well in England. Stuart Armstrong’s form at Southampton would be a good example for those who would argue against Sutton, but Armstrong only had one good season with Celtic and left after not playing very well in a year. Forrest is better than someone like Fraser, Michail Antonio or Nathan Redmond and to think otherwise is just pure madness and shows contempt for the Scottish game.