£1.5m bid rejectedCeltic are still interested in Newcastle United keeper Fraser Forster despite getting their first offer rejected, and the Charles N’Zogbia rumour has been resurrected a bit.
Celtic are likely to pursue Fraser Forster with increased vigour – along with increased money – after getting their £1.5m offer for the goalkeeper rejected.
Celtic boss Neil Lennon said:
“Obviously I need a goalkeeper. A bid has gone in for Fraser Forster. At the minute they are saying he’s not for sale but we will maybe pursue that again later on.”
Since he’s never actually played a game for the Newcastle first-team and has expressed a strong desire to join Celtic, I think there’s a good chance the Scottish club will eventually get their man.
I think it will be hard enough for Pardew to keep Harper and Krul happy as both players will be making a claim to be the first choice keeper, and keeping a third goalie – one who’s just come back from a season of first-team football – happy is probably asking too much. I reckon £2m-£3m will probably see him between Celtic’s sticks next season. (more…)
Not a shoo-in thoughForster returns to Newcastle United and Pardew has a swipe at Scotland.
Fraser Forster is set to return to Newcastle after spending the season in the SPL on loan to Celtic. Pardew took the opportunity to engage in a little Scottish league bashing whilst commenting upon Forster’s return:
“I think he’s coming back to a completely different level of football, I’ll tell you that now.
“We have watched that division and watched him all year. We’ve been very disappointed with the quality of the games, other than the occasional Rangers versus Celtic game.
“And even some of those have been poor, if I’m honest. He is coming to a completely different level of football.
“Fraser is not a shoo-in, none of them are.
“It’s going to be a case of, ‘come on then, who’s the hungriest, who has had a summer, who’s actually really taken care of what they’re doing over the summer?’.
“Who is putting in front of me, ‘I’m ready, I can be the man’. Hopefully, that challenge will go right up to the day we kick off.” (more…)
Celtic or Newcastle?Loaned out Newcastle United keeper Fraser Forster seems happy at Celtic.
23-year old keeper Fraser Forster has of course been loaned out to Celtic for the season, but he’s still a Newcastle player and will be returning to the club in July for the pre-season tour of the States, which will give Alan Pardew a chance to get a closer look at him.
Being allergic to Scottish football I haven’t closely followed how he’s done at Celtic, but judging by the fact that he broke Celtic’s clean-sheet record (23 clean sheets in 36 matches) it’s safe to assume he’s done pretty well.
With Harper, Krul and Soderberg also in the squad we’re fairly well-stocked with decent goalkeepers, so Forster could find himself loaned out again – or possibly even sold – next season.
Talking about his time at Celtic, Forster said:
“Celtic’s a fantastic club with a fantastic history and with the chance to go and play in Europe.
“This is a chance to go and win stuff.
“So there’s a lot of positives about this club, it’s definitely a team on the up.(more…)
The moustachio was a mistakeJoey Barton wants to pledge his future to Newcastle United, allegedly. Enrique is more of an enigma, but what about our triplet of talented keepers?
The summer will be interesting in many respects for Newcastle United, not least to see who leaves the club and who comes in. However, if the recent comments of a ‘source close to Joey’ are anything to go by, Joey Barton won’t be one of the leavers.
“Joey wants to stay at Newcastle because he is happy here.
“He may be opinionated at times, but he hasn’t forgotten what Newcastle did for him during his time at the club, and he’s got a lot of respect for all of the staff there, from the manager down.
“There has been talk that he was ready to quit the club, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“His main priority is to stay here – and always has been.
“Joey has got a great rapport with the Newcastle fans who obviously appreciate his efforts on the pitch, and he wants that relationship to continue.”
Of course a ‘source close to Joey’ could be his cat for all we know but I do tend to think that he wants to stay at Newcastle. No doubt Ashley will want to reduce his wages but if it isn’t to an insulting level then, personally, I’d expect him to be lining up in black and white next season despite alleged interest in the player from Hamburg and despite the fact the club failed to get him on a new contract in January. (more…)
Tim Krul on one of his murderous rampages.With an injury to Steve Harper that could see him out for the rest of the season, the responsibility falls to young Tim Krul to take his spot at the Gallowgate between the uprights.
We expect ball catcher extraordinaire Steve Harper to be back for the beginning of the 2011/2012 season, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Easington born ‘keeper. There are question marks surrounding the rightful owner to the number 1 shirt just 2 seasons after Harper finally claimed first choice goalkeeper.
Steve’s position in the squad is constantly under threat from Tim Krul and Hexham born Fraser Forster. Fraser doesn’t want to sit on the bench, and Tim is more than willing to do that to cement his place at St. James Park. With youngsters Jak Alnwick and Ole Soderberg steaming up through the ranks, we’re reminded exactly how blessed we are in the goalkeeping department here at Newcastle.
The unfortunate thing for Tim Krul is that even if he does manage to take the shirt from Harper’s back, he still has Fraser Forster to contend with. With them being of similar age, it will be even more difficult for Tim to retain the shirt, or maybe for the club to keep Forster on the books – after all, he doesn’t want to warm the bench. (more…)
Tim Krul on one of his murderous rampages.