Southampton: Fraser Forster continues to be linked with Besiktas

Southampton’s third-choice stopper failed to seal a move to another Premier League side before the window shut, and could now be forced to move abroad.

After a difficult 2017/18 campaign which led to Alex McCarthy replacing him as the Saints’ No. 1, Fraser Forster’s departure this summer seemed like almost an inevitability.

However, the six-foot-eight stopper never secured a move to a fellow English side before the window slammed shut 11 days ago, meaning if he is to be sold or loaned out, it would have to be abroad.

Now, one Turkish outlet are reporting that Forster is still being considered by Besiktas, having previously been linked with them earlier in the transfer window. Senol Gunes’ side are yet to replace ‘keeper Fabri who was sold to Fulham last month, and outside of their veteran back-up Tolga Zengin, their other two goalies are 20 or under.

Despite once being considered one of the English top flight’s most reliable goalkeepers, Forster has struggled to return to that form in the last 12 months and as previously mentioned, he lost his place to Alex McCarthy at the start of this calendar year.

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In pre-season he featured sporadically in China but was poor throughout – Schalke identified his inability stop long-range efforts and as a result scored twice from outside the box in the second half.

In mid-July the Saints announced the £13.5 million arrival of Angus Gunn from Manchester City, which seemingly put the nail in the coffin of Forster’s Southampton career. It was then reported that the club were open to offers for him, but sides including Besiktas were put off by the Saints’ steep asking price.

It now seems most likely that the club will loan out the 30-year-old, if anything just to get his high wages off of the club’s books. Last summer the Saints surprisingly tied the Englishman down to a fresh deal – one that reportedly made him one of their highest earners at around 75k a week.

As a team competing in European football, it seems a fair assessment that Besiktas would be able to cover at least the majority of Forster’s wages, assuming a deal would be temporary for now.

However, supporters shouldn’t get their hopes up too much, as the same source claims that the Turkish giants are also keen on Real Madrid’s Kiko Casilla and Liverpool’s Loris Karius.