Neil Lennon responds to the prospect of Fraser Forster extending his Celtic stay

Neil Lennon will play it by ear to see if he can secure Fraser Forster on a permanent basis.

The on-loan Southampton keeper was in outstanding form in the Europa League victory over Lazio- pulling off two breath-taking saves to put Celtic into pole position to progress to the knock out stage of the Europa League.

Incredibly Lennon has signed Forster four times- twice on loan during his first spell as Celtic manager before securing a permanent move- with the keeper delighted to be back in the thick of the action after a year in the wilderness at Southampton.

Forster is under contract with Southampton until June 2022 with the player and club in no rush to make any decision about what happens beyond the end of this season.

There will be a lot of talk, it depends on what Fraser wants to do and Southampton want to do. We’re just grateful to have him here, grateful to Southampton for giving us the opportunity to bring him in and he’s pleased to be getting regular football. You can see what he brings to the team.

He makes saves that I think other goalkeepers can’t, he’s almost disappointed when he concedes one, he’s that good. The two saves were crucial. People talk about the volley at the end but I thought that the save from Marco Parolo, the block was so pivotal to us winning the game. That’s what he is capable of.

He has shown that he is a very renowned goalkeeper, whether we can get him on a permanent it’s a long way off talking about that.

Forster will be 32 in March, if he maintains the form that he showed against Lazio there is likely to be interest from elsewhere in the former England keeper. Southampton paid Celtic £11m for the keeper in August 2014, after one season at the club he extended his contract through until June 2022.