Southampton: “Top-four” club want to sign Fraser Forster this summer

A “top-four” Premier League club have reportedly joined Celtic in the race to sign Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster this summer.

According to a report from the Daily Record, the 6ft 7in shot-stopper is on a shortlist of four names that the unnamed club want to bring in before next season.

Forster has spent the 2019/20 campaign on a season-long loan deal with Celtic and has returned to somewhere near the levels of performance that he showed in his early days with Saints and indeed in his previous spell with the Hoops.

The 32-year-old does not look to have a future at St Mary’s and he would be behind both Alex McCarthy and Angus Gunn in the pecking order if he returned.

Whilst we are only able to guess the identity of the club that have joined Celtic in pursuing Forster, there are a number of things that may suggest who it might be.

It is unclear whether the report is using the term “top-four” to describe a team currently in the Champions League places or a team that would normally be challenging.

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Liverpool, Manchester City, Leicester and Chelsea hold those placed at the moment, whilst a top-four challengers list would normally include the likes of Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester United too.

One key indicator about the new suitors of Forster may be the need for teams to meet homegrown player quotas.

The Premier League and Champions League rules include the need for eight homegrown players in a team’s 25-man squad. To qualify in this category in England, players need to have been with an English club for three years before the age of 21.

For this reason, and after taking contract situations into account, an educated guess at the unnamed club would be Manchester City.

They have used both Richard Wright and Scott Carson as third-choice goalkeepers in the recent past to satisfy the homegrown quota rulings, and another England international in Forster would fit the same bill.

The Citizens look to be losing Claudio Bravo on a free transfer at the end of this season, and Scott Carson is only on-loan from Derby County. Young goalkeeper Arijanet Muric will be returning from a loan spell at Nottingham Forest, meaning Forster could arrive in Manchester as the second or third-choice shot-stopper.

Another option could be Leicester City, who will be looking for backup to Kasper Schmeichel if Eldin Jakupovic is allowed to leave for free at the conclusion of this campaign.

Clearly the best option for Forster to rejuvenate his playing career would be to rejoin Celtic. However, it may be more realistic financially for another Premier League club to sign him if Saints stand firm on their £10m valuation of him.