Celtic legend John Hartson believes James Forrest is better off playing regular football with the Hoops and should not think about leaving the Scottish giants.
Forrest has scored six goals in 11 Scottish Premiership appearances for Celtic so far this season and has been a key player for Brendan Rodgers’ side as they have bounced back from a slow start to the season.
The 27-year old is currently on international duty and scored a brace in Scotland’s 4-0 win over Albania in a Nations League game on Sunday.
Hartson feels Forrest is in a good situation with Celtic right now as the winger is seeing regular playing time and has become indispensable to the team, so moving away should be the last thing on his mind.
“He has worked his socks off over the last few seasons to eliminate any lingering injury issues and Rodgers has been able to get him playing the best football of his career”, Hartson wrote in his column for the Evening Times.
“I don’t know what he is worth right now in a financial sense but I think you can see quite clearly what his worth is to Celtic.
“And he is far better out on Celtic Park than playing elsewhere with money sitting in the bank."
Hartson also believes that the winger has now proven that when the crunch clashes come around, Celtic can count on him.
“He has become one of the big-game players for Celtic.
“You can rely on him to turn up for the Champions League qualifiers or the Europa League.
“He has scored against Rangers, he has done it in the games where the pressure is on and so much is riding on the outcome.
“He seems to have hit a point in his career where he just looks so comfortable and much of that comes with knowing that you are playing at your best and that you believe you are turning in a big performance every time you cross the white line.”
If Forrest continues in the same vein of form, he appears all but certain to beat his best goal return in a league season for Celtic, which stands at seven goals.
