Journalist Ewan Murray has expressed his concern over James Forrest’s future at Celtic, stating he is unsure whether it is worth him sticking around at Parkhead.
The midfielder has been a top servant for Celtic over the years, with Forrest now in his 14th season for the Bhoys having lifted 21 pieces of silverware, However, now under Ange Postecoglou, he’s yet to get onto the pitch this season.
Forrest is now 31, so it’s fair to think he may no longer be a guaranteed starter for Celtic, especially with players such as Matt O’Riley coming through and taking up a lot of the minutes in midfield.
Murray is now unsure what the future holds for Forrest, as he believes the midfielder is too good to be sitting on the bench.
Speaking on The Press Box podcast, he said: “James Forrest is only 31. He’s another guy, I think, who has to play regularly – just in a physical sense, he always looks far better when he’s had a run of games. He’s 31 years of age, he’s had his whole career there, a fantastic career there.
Is Forrest good enough for Celtic?
Yes!
No!
“To me, it would be a waste, he’s far too good to be letting his career kind of peter out sitting on the Celtic bench, so I think Forrest is a very interesting case study in the context of all the options Celtic have.
“Of course, it’s only ever two or three injuries away from that changing, but as things stand now, I don’t know what he does.”
TIF Thoughts on Forrest’s situation…
It would be a shame if Forrest’s career was to end at Celtic as a bench player who perhaps features for 10-15 minutes a game with some appearances in the earlier rounds of the cup competitions – especially considering he’s been a one-club man.
However, it is still very early days and Celtic will be aiming to fight on multiple fronts this season, including the Champions League, so as the campaign grows older, it’s more likely that Postecoglou will start to use more of his squad and rotate frequently to keep players fresh.
At that point, if Forrest’s first-team prospects are clearly continuing to dwindle, we would expect him to consider looking elsewhere for game time, but it would be a big call given all he has achieved in Glasgow.