Fraser Forster is reported as about to undergo a medical today at Celtic and will rejoin his former club, although it has not yet been announced whether that will be a permanent deal or on loan.

Fraser Forster has had a torrid couple of seasons at St Mary's and been the brunt of the fans ire at times, not always fairly I should add, yes he was not in the best of form, but he was hardly helped by the fact by the central defenders he had in front of him during that time.

Now he is set to rejoin Celtic the club from whom he signed for Saints from back in the summer of 2014 and then enjoyed two solid seasons albeit with a spell out through injury.

One thing is for sure he needs to get away from Saints and rebuild his confidence in a supportive environment and then hopefully he can become the keeper he was a few years ago when he helped Saints to three consecutive top 8 finishes and a League Cup final at Wembley.

Whether he is joining Celtic on loan or in a permanent deal is still a little unclear with several media outlets giving out different messages, but I would suspect this will be a loan deal where we will at least get a proportion of his wages off the books for the rest of the season.

That is better than nothing although from a financial viewpoint it would probably be best if we got him off the books permanently, even if to do that we had to let him go on a free transfer the savings on wages would compensate the loss of transfer fee to some degree.

But a loan period might also be an advantage in that if he regained his form and confidence in Scotland in a years time he might once again be a genuine contender for a first team spot again at St Mary's.

Forster will compete for a place at Celtic with Scott Bain currently sidelined with a dislocated thumb and Craig Gordon, neither can really lay claim to being first choiceover the past couple of years, Gordon was the regular keeper up to two years ago, but at 36 he has faced competition from Bain and last season saw him play only 14 League games.

Good luck to Fraser Forster, he has been nothing other than a model professional at Saints even though the last two years have been difficult for him, but he is not a poor keeper, just a good one who has been low on confidence of late, hopefully Saints fans will recognise his contribution to the club and wish him all the best of luck on social media rather than glibly make sarcastic comments.

Photo: Action Images

JGH added 11:31 - Aug 22 Well said. Good luck to him.
6

corkcitysaint added 13:18 - Aug 22 Best of luck to Fraser. I always thought he was very good at reactionary saves or point blank saves but very dodgy on crosses or any shots outside the box.. Didn't seem like a "Prima Donna" either.
5

ChristchurchSaint added 14:04 - Aug 22 Good luck Fraser! Did take a lot of stick, don’t think we ever found out the total truth concerning health issues. Never threw his toys out even when he didn’t even make the bench, maybe you could have a word with Lemina before you leave.
4

highfield49 added 16:04 - Aug 22 Head up Fraser, you're a much better person than every one of the pathetic social media trolls and armchair experts who have given you grief in recent times. Good luck wherever your career may take you in the future.
3

A1079 added 17:02 - Aug 22 I sincerely wish him well. I know he was earning a good salary, but I have always felt uncomfortable the way in which he appeared to be vilified by some sections of our fan base and club. He clearly suffered some sort of loss of confidence and belief and though I have no idea what he was going through, I have suspected he was suffering some health issues. Hope he gets his life and career back on track.

3

saintmark1976 added 17:50 - Aug 22 Whether a sale or loan I hope it goes well for him.For whatever reason, when you go from being in contention to be England's keeper to third choice at St Mary's it must have been hard for him to cope with. The way he behaved during that difficult time shows that there is still some class left in the ever increasingly morally corrupt world of professional football.

5

bstokesaint added 22:08 - Aug 22 Good luck Fraser. Something is clearly not right at the moment. I thought he was excellent when he first joined us. I wish him well in regaining that form, wherever it may be.
2

Blogs 31 bloggers

Rochdale Polls