Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster is ready to fight for a place in the first team ahead of the 2020/21 Premier League season, rejecting a return to Celtic.
The England international, who originally joined the Saints’ from Celtic back in 2014, was loaned to the Scottish champions at the beginning of the 2019/20 season in search of first-team football, with both Angus Gunn and Alex McCarthy in front of Forster in the pecking order.
It was a successful spell away from St Mary’s Stadium for Forster, who helped his side win their ninth consecutive league title, keeping 14 clean sheets in the process, as well as lifting the Betfred Cup.
Neil Lennon was keen to bring back Forster to help his side win a historic 10th league title in a row, but was not confident that he would return to Celtic Park.
Speaking to Sky Sports in July, Lennon said: “It’s gone quiet from the player’s side of things.
“We would dearly love him back here but if that’s not going to be the case then we’ll look elsewhere.”
He added: “It’s such an important position and Fraser did wonderful things for us last season.”
“Ideally we’ll try to get an exceptional number one in again.”
What the Southampton CEO had to say.
Talking to BBC Radio Solent, Southampton CEO Martin Semmens was full of praise for the 32-year-old.
Semmens said: “There has never been any issue with Fraser from a relationship point of view, he’s always trained brilliantly, he’s a fantastic guy, Ralph [Hasenhuttl] and him have never really had any issues and they’ve not had a lot of time together.
“He’s obviously always been our player, one that we watch carefully.”
He also shed light on the reason the former Norwich shot-stopper did not return to Scotland, insisting that Forster wanted to fight for a first-team place at Southampton.
“Fraser made an active decision to come back, he didn’t want to stay in Celtic anymore he wanted to come back and play for us so we’ll give him that opportunity,” said Semmens.
He added: “Fraser has been a full part of the squad since we came back, he couldn’t be joining the games in July because he wasn’t allowed to be part of the squad but now he’s a full part of it, he’s training and he’s doing very well so we’ll see how that develops, but Frasers a full part of our squad going forward.”
Should Fraser Forster Return?
If Forster could rediscover the form he showed in his opening two seasons with Southampton, there is no debate over whether he should be given another chance on the south coast.
The Saints’ impressive spurt up the league under now-Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman was largely down to his shrewd acquisition of Forster in 2014.
The former Celtic man had just come off the back of a season where he kept a total of 21 clean sheets for The Bhoys, with 13 of those coming in consecutive matches – breaking a record that stood for 43 years.
In his debut season for Southampton, the goalkeeper kept a total of 13 clean sheets, one less that Joe Hart, who played six more games than the Saint.
The season ended with Southampton recording a club-record point’s tally, with their 7th place finish returning them to European football for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
Forster missed eight league games in his maiden campaign due to suffering a serious knee injury against Burnley in April, with this ultimately costing him a chance of winning the Golden Glove.
After returning in January 2016 after nine months out, the former Newcastle man showed little signs of complacency. In fact, upon his return, Forster kept six consecutive clean sheets, making 23 saves in 708 minutes of top-flight football, breaking the club record of 666 minutes without conceding, previously held by Paul Jones.
These would be the only clean sheets he kept through the season, but would still be enough to see the Saints break last season’s points tally by three points, moving up one place to sixth.
Under Claude Puel, Southampton regressed. Dropping two places, 17 points and scoring 18 fewer goals, the impressive form of Forster allowed the Saints’ to stay clear of a relegation fight, with 14 clean sheets helping his side to 8th place.
As the team dropped further down the season in the following season under new manager Mauricio Pellegrino, Forster started to struggle. Dropped in December 2017 after numerous mistakes, the shot-stopper has played in just one league game since with this coming in a 3-0 away loss to West Ham in 2019.
Many fans are keen to see what Forster has to offer in the coming season, but it’s unlikely that he will come straight back into the team. Despite only keeping 7 clean sheets in 28 matches, Alex McCarthy’s consistency in goal has been heavily linked to the Saints’ upturn in form, with his introduction seeing the Hampshire based side move from relegation fighters to dark horses for the Europa League places.
What does this mean for Angus Gunn?
The return of Forster will see Gunn drop down to the third choice in the goalkeeping department.
The Englishman, who Southampton bought from Manchester City in 2018, began the season as their number one.
However, conceding 19 goals in five games, including nine against Leicester City, and keeping just two clean sheets in 10 appearances, the former Norwich player was demoted to the bench.
From that point onwards, Gunn has been limited to just three starts, all in the FA Cup, where he conceded four goals and kept one clean sheet.
At the age of 24, and a contract until 2023, his chances of succeeding at Southampton in the long-run are far from over, but a need for first-team football away from the club is certainly required.
Gunn will likely leave the club on loan before the end of the transfer window, but with links to Leeds United cooling in the past month, and talks of a switch to Stoke City seemingly just rumors at this stage, there are no current suitors for his signature.