Celtic suffer Forster blow as report claims another loan deal has been ruled out

Southampton appear to have closed the door on Fraser Forster returning to Celtic on loan next season.

The keeper had an outstanding season as the hoops clinched 9-in-a-row but it seems that the English side will only part with Forster if it’s on a permanent deal

Celtic could probably afford the transfer fee but matching the terms of the two years remaining on his contract would be a stretch too far. According to one report Celtic only paid £15,000/week to get Forster on loan for the 2019/20 season.

The former England keeper returned to Southampton today at the end of his loan spell with Celtic knowing that Neil Lennon has made another deal his transfer priority.

The Sun reports:

FRASER FORSTER is almost certainly NOT coming back to Celtic.

It has emerged that Neil Lennon’s only hope of restoring the former England No1 in goal for the 2020-21 campaign is if a permanent mega-money deal is struck with Southampton who paid the Hoops £10 million for Forster in 2014.

And SunSport Online understands that will simply be too costly for the nine-in-a-row champions with the English Premier League side seeking at least £5m for the 32-year-old who still has two years of a contract that pays him £90,000-plus a week.

We revealed Forster – sensational back on loan last season domestically and in the Europa League – had travelled back to the south coast for key talks with St Mary’s boss Ralph Hasenhuttl and club chiefs over his future.

Celtic had thought they’d struck an agreement in principle with the Saints board for a further year’s loan but ultimately it was going to come down to the outcome of Forster’s discussions with his parent club.

And the strong indications from Saints sources tonight was that the former Newcastle United and Norwich shot-stopper would NOT be returning north.

Southampton’s reported stance on the issue could be aimed at getting a better deal out of Celtic who have in turn been linked with an interest in Joe Hart.

Olivier Ntcham could be part of negotiations between the two clubs with Forster having a big say in his own future.

Before moving to Celtic last August he had only played one first team match in 18 months, with two years to run on his contract he’ll be anxious to be playing at Southampton or elsewhere next season.

Earlier today Celtic and Southampton did agree another season long loan for Moi Elyounoussi to return to Glasgow.