Southampton would be unfair to demand a significant transfer fee for Fraser Forster at the end of the season, according to former Scotland international Alan Hutton.
Speaking to Football Insider, the prospect of the 31-year-old signing permanently for Celtic at the end of his loan spell was discussed.
Forster has been in good form for the Hoops since his arrival in the summer and played a crucial role as he helped the club win the Betfred Cup final against Rangers on Sunday afternoon.
In light of the goalkeeper’s impressive showings, it is believed that Southampton could be prepared to increase their asking price for the England international.
One report even suggests that Saints believe they have a player worth around £25 million on their hands.
Hutton, however, believes that it would not be fair on Forster to knowingly price him out of a permanent move to Celtic Park. He said:
There’s no way Celtic will be able to pay that for a goalkeeper. And the thing that annoys me the most about this situation, it even happened with Aston Villa and Tyrone Mings as well, is that his club let him go because they deemed him surplus to requirements.
The player then flourishes with the team that they went to, and the team that didn’t want them then pumps up their value, so you’re only affecting the player.
You’re stopping him from moving on with his career just because he went off and done well off his own back. So I don’t really like it, I think the best thing is for a price tag to be agreed beforehand, so you go out on loan for a year with a view to a permanent for say like £8million.
I think it just ends up being unfair on the player as your club puts up your price too high. And I feel for him a bit as it’s a tough situation to be in.
Read Southampton’s verdict
In today’s market, you can hardly blame for Saints for attempting to bump up Forster’s valuation, especially given his form of late.
However, Celtic aren’t likely to break the bank – not least for a 31-year-old on high wages – and Southampton should also be realistic about what the player himself wants for the future.
Saints aren’t exactly likely to sell Forster for anywhere near the aforementioned £25 million, so striking a compromise should be prioritised.
With that being said, however, the club are probably in a position to demand a little more than the £8 million that Hutton suggested…
