Some Celtic fans react to James Forrest to Zenit rumour

James Forrest’s future was thrust into the spotlight yesterday with a surprising rumour.

The Scottish Sun claimed that Zenit St Petersburg were preparing a £12million bid for the Hoops wide-man. Neil Lennon, however, was quick to dismiss the idea of it with comments made yesterday (Daily Record).

James Forrest is a shock target for Zenit (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

At face value, it comes across as one of those stories that just feels hard to believe. One of the crazy rumours that just seems to come and go throughout the transfer window. You get plenty of them, and this story seems like it’s dressed up in the same gear.

And it’s fair to say that supporters have also been backing that idea too on social media. Here’s a look at what some of them had to say:

https://twitter.com/KingHenrik4/status/1160676053783855109

https://twitter.com/Celtic1967News/status/1160681219962671104

Anybody out there wanting to punt Forrest to zenit for 12m or McGregor to Leicester for 15m etc isnt paying attention..kt 25 = going for taylor peanuts ?..enough of the boasting & bragging about money good players every day before coin for me
— zander (@zanderhammerman) August 12, 2019

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James Forrest’s future remains at Parkhead

There’s no denying Forrest’s influence at Parkhead. It’s easy to forget how many times the fans-favourite has plucked us out of danger. His winner against Rangers, Rosenborg, and decisive strike in Cluj come to mind instantly.

He’s a big-game player, and it’s vital we keep a hold of as many of those as possible. Considering we’ve just sold Kieran Tierney, the supporters could do without another blow in Forrest leaving.

You can see exactly why supporters think it’s pure fantasy anyway. Zenit isn’t the kind of destination you could see Forrest moving to. But then again, who could’ve seen Aiden McGeady leaving Parkhead for Spartak Moscow back in 2010? A move to Russia isn’t unheard of, but just seriously unlikely.

Forrest was part of the Celtic team that fell to an embarrassing 3-0 loss to Zenit back in 2018 (Peter KovalevTASS via Getty Images)

No offer has been put in place as of yet in any case. Until there is, it’s all just speculation. But even the fee of £12m you have to imagine is a bit of a joke. Celtic shouldn’t be selling Forrest for anything close to that sum.

We have to start looking upwards of £20m for our star players these days. Forrest falls into that category, and has made an even bigger impact on the team than Kieran Tierney has over the last 12 months.

Fortunately, it looks like we’ll be keeping hold of him anyway.