James Forrest has endured a torrid couple of seasons at Celtic.
The 30-year-old winger, so often a crucial player in his 12 years at the club, has had injury troubles and poor form to contend with ever since football shut down at the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Forrest played just 13 league matches last season. He’s only on that same number so far this term.
He’s netted just seven goals during the last two seasons, and is yet to strike in the Premiership this campaign.
In recent weeks, he has been written off by plenty of Celtic fans, with his contribution being badly overshadowed by that of Liel Abada.
But we shouldn’t be too quick to write James Forrest off. He’s proven us all wrong before after all.
James Forrest can still be an important player for Celtic
Forrest didn’t seem to have much of a future career at Celtic when Brendan Rodgers entered the building in the summer of 2016.
But the Northern Irishman turned Forrest into a reliable goal-getter – and he regularly hit close to 20 goals for Celtic each season as a result.
For a fair chunk of that time, Forrest seemed to be the only viable option on the right-wing, with little in the way of fit competition.
Now, he has a fight on his hands to see game time. And that can only be good from a Celtic point of view.
There is no reason why Forrest shouldn’t be able to contribute in an Ange team.
The quick, direct style of play should suit him. Two of our best players this season have been fellow wingers Liel Abada and Jota.
Forrest showed some signs of improvement in Sunday’s second-half against Motherwell.
I’m pretty certain he’ll net at least one vital Celtic goal between now and the end of the season.
His experience during the title run-in could be crucial too. Starting tonight at Pittodrie.
In other news, John Hartson is pretty buzzing with the strength of the Celtic squad
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