It had looked like Joe Hart was the favourite to replace Fraser Forster at Celtic but the transfer saga has taken an unexpected turn.
About a month ago, Celtic fans believed that they had their goalkeeper for next season sorted. Of course, there was the matter of reaching a deal with Southampton but that could be achieved and according to reports, the two clubs had actually reached a deal. But shockingly, it was Fraser Forster who decided to call off a return to Parkhead in favour of staying at St Mary’s and fighting for his place in the team.
That was a bit of a surprise considering that he had spent a couple of seasons rotting away on the Southampton bench before returning to Celtic on a season-long loan last season and re-establishing himself as a first-team player once again. As a result, it was the general consensus that he would be keen on a return but as it turns out that was far from the truth.
As a result, Celtic have been left scrambling to replace him in goal with Craig Gordon also having left the club, leaving only Scott Bain as the only keeper with first-team experience. One man whose name had constantly cropped up in this search was that of Joe Hart.
While Joe Hart has had a tremendous career, he has gone through a terrible few seasons bouncing around from club to club following the arrival of Guardiola at Manchester City. And right now, he finds himself without a club which is probably a big reason why Celtic want him, cause he will come without a transfer fee.
Till now it had appeared that he was the favourite to replace Forster between the sticks at Parkhead but things seem to have changed over the past few weeks. As reported by The Scottish Sun, Celtic have turned their attention towards the European market for a new goalkeeper which could mean that Greek international Vasilios Barkas is the new favourite.