I think we can safely say that goalkeeper Fraser Forster’s future lies away from Newcastle United. The 2m tall ‘keeper spent the whole of the 2010/11 in Scotland with Celtic and has spent the first half of this season in the SPL with the same club. Celtic manager Neil Lennon hopes to make the loan deal permanent this month in a £2 million transfer, but Tottenham Hotspur have identified the young goalkeeper as a potential long-term replacement for Brad Friedel who has been a revelation at White Hart Lane. So will Forster stay with Celtic, move to Tottenham or return to Newcastle?
It seems that the latter of those three scenarios is the least likely. Newcastle’s goalkeeper Tim Krul has been in outstanding form this season and it has even been reported that Spurs have cast an admiring glance at the young Dutchman. But Alan Pardew will be in no mood to let his star ‘keeper leave anytime soon, even if a bid of around £15m came in. With Steve Harper and Rob Elliot as backup, Forster’s services aren’t needed by the Magpies.
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Tottenham on the other hand are in need of a goalkeeper. Brad Friedel may only have signed for the club in the summer, but at 40 years of age, he realistically only has 18 months of top flight football left in him. Carlo Cudicini is also getting on a bit, as he’s now 38, and the less said about Heurelho Gomes the better. Whether Forster is good enough for a team challenging for the Premier League title I’m not so sure, but at the start of the 2013/14 season maybe he’ll be ready to take over from the American.
The most likely destination for Forster is his current one, Celtic. He has played over 50 times for the SPL club and has impressed north of the border and would have made the deal permanently earlier had it not been for Newcastle’s desire to keep him on their books. However, with Krul’s form Forster is no longer needed and Celtic see the big ‘keeper as a long-term presence in between the sticks for many years to come.
Not wanted by Newcastle, Forster’s future lies elsewhere. Is that with Tottenham or Celtic? It has to be the Bhoys for me.
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Non article. Celtic have a written agreement with Newcastle and are negotiating terms with Fraser. Signing could go through before the window shuts but more likely in the summer.
You got it wrong. Tottenham will take Krul and Newcastle will keep Forster.
Haha Dream on… Your best hope is to offer silly money for PARDEW coz Ol ‘Arry will be doing porridge, instead of who you want between the sticks
He is not very good btw.
A big flapper and takes too long to get down for low shots
I spent almost a decade playing football with Fraser at school and the boy is a class act. A huge loss if he leaves Newcastle. Think he will be classed as one who got away!
As DavieL says. Celtic have a binding agreement with Newcastle that they have first refusal on Forster for a sum of approx. £2M. The only way a move to Celtic will not happen is if Neil Lennon has a sudden change of heart and that’s not gonna happen>
Either way he’ll be leaving for a bigger, better club with European football and silverware….two things that are rarer on Tyneside than a Geordie with a double digit IQ.
Unnecessary dig
Seems like deja vu in reverse. I remember well a young Celtic goalkeeper who went on to make a name for himself at Newcastle leaving the Bhoys because he was seeking regular first team football. His name………Shay Given!
Good point, maybe he’ll be missed, but Krul is too good for him right now
The timing of this silly attempt by Celtic is awful. This is tailor made to create friction between player and Celtic. He already said he wants to wait and see if his value increases should we win the league. Why would he commit now when he could get a better contract in the summer? On the other hand, if he sees us pushing this now, he takes his eye off the ball thinking he is being sold short and makes mistakes he hasn’t been making to date. Then again, if he says no in the summer, so what? he is a good goalie, but there are others out there too. As for davieLs thinking, this agreement only gives us the first chance to approach him. Should he decide not to join he is open market!
Thanks for the insight Joe
He’s come on leaps and bounds since he first arrived in Parkhead. HAs pulled of some fantastic saves of late to keep us in matches, Udinese springs to mind, a double stop from Italy’s top marksman Di Natale in the space of 5 seconds. He’s only 23, and the lure of European football and a chance to win a few medals at Celtic should be enough to keep him. If not i would’nt be too bothered as Joe said, plenty more fish in the sea.
ps.
What are Tottinghams doing in the top half of the EPL anyway? That bubble will soon burst and i will enjoy watching them drop like a stone on a vicars toenail.
Forster is a class act and will be joining a massive club with a big history and an enormous loyal following. I wish the young un well and hope he finds happiness away from the depression that is Newcastle and the north-east. I wish I could follow him myself.
What a keeper. Newcastle can write him off and thank god they have. This guy will be a Celtic hero for years. Get that deal signed asap
Don’t think we have written him off tbf …. I just think we have a world class keeper in Tim Krul and Forster doesn’t want to sit on the bench.
Forster is a class keeper potential England keeper at 2 mil it would be a steal, it will be a big loss for us to let him leave especially when fat ash sells Krul in the next year or two, the idea that Harper and that “other” keeper can cover is just stupid neither of them good enough for a premiership team we should see if Celtic want either of them two piles.
He garbage, I hope he does sign for the unwashed.
Steve A Stevens? Not the same Steve A Stevens that predicted that we would be unbeatable and rolling in money once the fat cockney took us over? Not the same Steve A Stevens that predicted that the toad-kissing Masons would never lose another game under the mighty cake-filled fists of poor wee Ally?
Time you stopped making predictions about rubbish and the unwashed just in case you make an even bigger tool of your wee self son.
Watched Forster make some class saves in the old firm game after christmas and he was deffo england material. Our loss, Celtics huge gain. He is away and the Celtic fans love him and he enjoys the massive atmosphere inside of a terrific stadium. Good luck Fraser!
I had my doubts about him last season and wondered what celtic were doing bringing him back on loan again this season but i have been very surprised by the quality of some of his displays in the SPL and europe ..he has made some outstanding saves ….Newcastle fans go on about how bad he is in the same way that rangers fans did about charlie adam …and we all know what happened to fat charlie when he was given a chance by another club .