Neil Lennon says James Forrest wants to stay at Celtic

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James Forrest’s Celtic contract isn’t exactly up for renewal, but Neil Lennon says he wants to extend his stay at the club.

Forrest has continued to be a huge favourite of Lennon’s since he came in the door. It was the Northern Irishman who gave the winger his big break at Parkhead. Back in 2010, Lennon gave Jimmy his debut, and since then, he’s managed 17 pieces of silverware for the club he loves.

It was only a year ago that Forrest committed to Parkhead for a further four years (Celticfc.net). That contract runs until the summer of 2022, yet still the winger appears to want to commit further.

Speaking in the Scottish Sun yesterday, Lennon opened up on how he wants to extend his contract still, and praised the veteran’s attitude.

“He wants to extend his contract, which is great. Rather than talking about people leaving the club we’ve got one there who wants to stay. So that’s one we’ll look at.

“I think he’s still got two years left on his deal but we’ve already talked about an extension. He’s a top, top player. He’s been brilliant and at 28 he’s at his peak.”

Forrest’s Celtic contract already takes him to 31

If he signs a new deal once again, Forrest would be making the ultimate commitment to Celtic. He would essentially be confirming his place as a one-club man. At the very least, his best days will all come at Parkhead if he does ever depart.

Forrest took a clean sweep of Player of the Year awards last season. He’s in as good a place in his Hoops career than he’s ever been, and it’s evident he’s enjoying it.

This year should finally see some serious competition for his position, however. Marian Shved and Lewis Morgan are both now breaking down Forrest’s neck. Any lack of consistency, and Forrest will be out the team given the fresh competition. But that’s the way it should be at Celtic.

Forrest will hopefully thrive on the challenge, and his desire for a new contract proves he’s ready to stick around and fight his rivals off.

The winger looked a little bit back to his normal self against Rennes yesterday. That came after a poor first-leg outing in Sarajevo in which Forrest could barely get into the game. He’s clearly still building up his match-sharpness, and that did return a tad against the French outfit yesterday.

Another new contract could be a helpful and timely boost for him too. Nothing has been signed or offered yet as it stands, but even at this stage, it seems as though Forrest could be a rare one-club man.