NEIL LENNON says the ball is in Fraser Forster’s court over a return to Celtic.
The Hoops boss confirmed that a deal was agreed with Southampton to bring the goalkeeper back to Parkhead.
Celtic are trying to bring Fraser Forster back – but things have ‘gone quiet’ over personal termsCredit: Reuters
He told Sky Sports: “Well we are looking at other options.
“There was a deal agreed between both the clubs and it’s gone quiet from the player’s side of things.
“Like everything else, we would dearly love him back here.
“But if that’s not the case then we’ll look elsewhere.”
SunSport understands Celts had agreed a 12-month loan deal with the option to buy in the summer of 2021.
But Forster, 32, wants a permanent transfer now to fully settle back in Glasgow for the long-term.
Ex-England and Man City No1 Joe Hart – now a free agent after leaving Burnley – and Wigan’s David Marshall are being considered as alternative options.
Joe Hart is available on a free transferCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
And Lenny said: “We’re looking at a number of options in the goalkeeping front, it’s such an important position.
“Fraser did wonderful things for us last season and he’s got big gloves to fill.
“Ideally we’ll try to get another exceptional number one in again.”
While filling the No1 spot is a priority for the Premiership champions, Lennon hopes to add to another couple of positions.
But the Northern Irishman admits the recruitment process is different with the coronavirus restrictions.
He added: “It’s different, it’s a bit fragmented obviously.
“We won’t probably get a fair idea of the transfer market until the Premier League and other main leagues in Europe finish.
“It’s been predominantly business as usual. We’ve got a lot of options for different positions.
Neil Lennon says the ball is in Fraser Forster’s courtCredit: Kenny Ramsay – The Sun Glasgow
“The difficult thing is we can’t look at players live at the minute so a lot of it is done with analysis and stats.
“Ideally you want to go and see a player and see his strengths and weaknesses, but that’s the only difference really.
“There’s been an amount of work done in the background from the recruitment side of things.
“We’ve got Mo Elyounoussi back which is a big plus for us so there’s a continuity there and we’ll look to add one or two to the group.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
