Celtic legend turned pundit, Chris Sutton, has made it clear who he thinks shouldn’t be singed as Fraser Forster’s replacement after a scathing assessment of former England number one, Joe Hart.
Speaking on The Record Celtic podcast (via The Daily Record), Sutton has pleaded for Neil Lennon and co to “get the deal done” for Forster.
So what has Sutton said?
When asked if he though that the move for Hart would be a decent bit of business for the Parkhead club, he said:
“No, not for me. When Joe Hart first broke into the Manchester City team, he was a sensational goalkeeper – a brilliant, brilliant goalkeeper.
“Why would Celtic, whether he cost money or a free transfer, want to spend big wages on Hart? He’s not the keeper that he was.
“He’s 33 years old, maybe he could come up and resurrect his career but Celtic cannot afford to take a gamble this season.
“That would be a gamble to sign Hart, looking at the form which he has been in. It hasn’t been good enough and Celtic cannot afford slip-ups.
“That is why they need to get the deal done with Fraser Forster. Last season he was immense, you know what you’re going to get with Forster.
“These two goalkeepers, at this stage of their careers in the here and now, Forster is streaks ahead of Hart.
“And that is the truth – Celtic should not touch Joe Hart.”
So is Sutton correct?
After recent revelations that Forster doesn’t want to return north and has chosen to stay and fight for his place, Celtic now need to get an experienced pair of hands in as quickly as possible and Hart is available immediately.
What Sutton fails to mention is that Forster’s own form was non-existent prior to heading home to Paradise after a disastrous couple of seasons on the south coast, hence the reason he was allowed to head out on loan in the first place.
Hart was one of, if not the best keeper in world just a few seasons ago, so it isn’t too big a stretch to think that a consistent run of games behind a solid defence would be enough to bring back the confidence that every Celtic keeper needs.
He has starred at both international level and in the Champions League and although Forster’s current form is better, Hart can certainly point to a longer period at the top and has more than a good few years still to offer – whether or not they are at Parkhead is another story, but he certainly shouldn’t be written off just yet as the Great Wall demonstrated so consistently last season.