James Forrest could be on his way to Cardiff City according to a report from PLZ Soccer.
The winger made his Celtic debut in 2010 but despite scoring in 15 consecutive seasons he has struggled to make it onto the bench in recent matches.
David Turnbull has been strongly linked with a move to the Welsh side but now it seems that there are talks underway over a double deal.
With six months left on his contract the departure of the former Motherwell midfielder has been anticipated but if he is joined by Forrest it will be something of a shock.
Although he has been pushed down the pecking order over the last year to 18 months Forrest has the experience and know-how that can’t be matched by players that have arrived at Celtic in the last 18 months.
🚨DEADLINE DAY LIVE 🚨
✍️ EXCLUSIVE: Cardiff potentially interested in DOUBLE SWOOP for Celtic pair David Turnbull and James Forrest
Follow all #cinchPrem January Transfers HERE ➡️https://t.co/vsbQywFUVq
Buying a car? Click HERE ➡ https://t.co/SPfmeRceNK pic.twitter.com/OQBEvd4Jfd
— PLZ Soccer (@PLZSoccer) February 1, 2024
Luis Palma and Yang Hyun-jun were both signed during the summer, Liel Abada has had injury issues this season with Daizen Maeda just starting his third year as a winger at club level and a striker internationally.
As things stand Nicolas Kuhn is the only new arrival at next month but none of the currently available wingers have the experience of coping with the demands of a nine day run of fixtures that take in the contrasting tests of Aberdeen, Hibs and St Mirren.
Forrest is the third most decorated player in Celtic’s history, alongside Callum McGregor he is the only link going back to Brendan Rodgers’ first, Invincible season managing Celtic.
It looked like a parting of the ways was on the cards when Rodgers arrived at Celtic in the summer of 2016 but like Tom Rodgers, Stuart Armstrong and Mikel Lustig the new boss lifted Forrest’s game to new levels.
With Scott Sinclair and Patrick Roberts for competition Forrest scored a number of vital goals, as he did when Ange Postecoglou did in the summer of 2021.
While Turnbull is out of contract this summer Forrest has an additional year on his Celtic contract which would suggest that any move would be on loan till the end of the season.
Cardiff are currently in 14th place in the Championship, seven points adrift of Coventry City in the final play off spot.
CLICK HERE for Forrest’s 23/24 Soccerbase profile.
CLICK HERE for Anthony Joseph’s Celtic left-back update.
