Celtic pundit Kevin McGuire believes that the Hoops miss former goalkeeper Fraser Forster this season.
McGuire made an appearance on the latest episode of the ‘A Celtic State of Mind’ podcast and the panel discussed multiple issues involving the Bhoys. One topic of discussion was the club’s defence and McGuire believes that the absence of Forster has been a ‘massive part’ of Celtic’s defensive problems. Forster is currently valued at £4.05m.
Celtic have conceded as many as 11 goals in the Premiership this season. They conceded four goals against Sparta Prague in the UEFA Europa League and after their 3-3 draw against Aberdeen, Neil Lennon had branded the club’s players as ‘fragile’.
Do Celtic miss Fraser Forster?
Yes
No
McGuire believes that Celtic miss Forster’s presence between the sticks. He said: “I think losing Fraser – I don’t know what happened there, I’ve heard that he didn’t want to come back, I’ve heard that he wanted to come back but only in a permanent deal, which is fair enough, but I think losing him has been a massive, massive part of what’s happened at the back.
“You need somebody that’s going to command. And without [Christopher] Jullien, then Fraser was the guy to do that.”
TIF Thoughts on McGuire’s comments regarding Forster…
Forster was on loan at Celtic in the 2019/20 campaign and he had saved penalties in the League Cup final against Rangers and against Copenhagen in the first leg of the Round of 32 of the UEFA Europa League. He had impressed against Lazio in the Europa League too. That is a reflection of the fact that he came up with important performances in big games for Celtic.
It was reported that the Englishman had decided to stay at Southampton and he wanted to fight for his place at the South Coast-based club. Celtic did sign Vasilis Barkas from AEK Athens but as many as 17 players have picked up better ratings than him in the Premiership. Because of how Celtic couldn’t re-sign Forster in the summer and the fact that Barkas hasn’t performed too well, it is understandable why McGuire feels that the Hoops miss the Englishman between the sticks.