JAMES Forrest reckons Scott Allan wouldn’t have had to think twice about joining Celtic. The 23-year-old midfielder, who was last night undergoing a medical and tidying up the details of his £275,000 move to the Parkhead side from Hibs, in a deal which will see Dylan McGeouch and on-loan Liam Henderson go in the other direction, now has the possibility to feature in the Champions League rather than merely the Championship and Forrest reckons any perceived contradiction with the fact he is a boyhood Rangers fan would have been fleeting indeed.

“We’re the champions and we’re trying to get into the Champions League and he is a player with ambitions so he’ll want to come and play with Celtic,” Forrest added. “I don’t even think he would have been thinking twice about it.”

However much agonising went on, football is littered with players who appeared set to sign for one club only to move to a major rival when the circumstances suited them. Not least of these is Kris Commons, a man who now finds himself in direct competition with Allan. Not only did Commons stun Nottingham Forest when he left them for local rivals Derby County, he too had been heavily linked with Rangers prior to joining Celtic in a cut-price deal in January 2011.

Kenny Dalglish and Scott Brown are two previous Parkead icons who managed to park affections for the Ibrox side but Allan has a way to go before he can be mentioned in such exalted company. For all his technical attributes, the 23-year-old’s first battle will be to locate a berth in the Parkhead first team. Of his three main rivals for his time-honoured sport in an advanced midfield role, he lacks the energy and self sacrifice of Stefan Johansen – something which may be required when it is all hands to the pump in Europe - the stealthy late running of Stuart Armstrong, while his five senior goals to date cannot hold a candle to the prolific Commons. Tom Rogic has also emerged as an early-season contender for game time in that position.

Some would incorporate Allan’s incisive passing from a deeper position, but that is an area where Celtic are already well served, with Scott Brown, Nir Bitton and Charlie Mulgrew already scrapping it out for two roles.

Forrest, who trained and played alongside Allan for the Scotland Under-21 side, is convinced the player will be a huge asset – once he proves he can hold his own in this company. There were further signs of his potential production on the big stage during an excellent display, albeit in a losing effort, in the Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Falkirk.

“He’ll be confident in his ability and he’ll know he can come here and do a job and I’m sure he can,” said Forrest. “I’ve trained with Scott a couple of times and played with him for the Under-21s, and he’s a really good player. He’s technically really good, the type of player that will be good for Celtic. I’m positive he can come here and be a really good player. But a club like Celtic is massive and any player that comes in will need to do the same as the boys who are here and give everything.”

While Allan is a player with huge possibilities, clearly worth a gamble at £275,000, in truth Deila is inheriting another work in progress. The Norwegian’s emphasis on diet, conditioning and work ethic has paid huge dividends on the likes of Leigh Griffiths and if he can convince Allan to work more on the defensive side of the game then everyone could be a winner out of this deal. That has been a consistent bugbear of the player’s coaches right back to the Dundee United youth ranks.

Allan is also no stranger to controversy. Even before he was falling out with United boss Peter Houston after demanding to earn the third highest wage at the club after a handful of appearances, an assault charge was dropped after an infamous incident involving him and some Dundee United team-mates in November 2010. A road accident during his time in Portsmouth which saw a pedestrian sustain serious injuries led to his insurers having to pay up more than £6m.

There will be even greater focus in his home city now, particularly having made such play of his affection for Rangers, but Forrest feels it won’t take long for the Celtic supporters to take him to their hearts. “Once you start playing games then everything else gets forgotten about,” he said. “I am sure the fans will be right behind him because he will be a really good player for Celtic.”

While Allan’s creativity and flair could make a difference as early as Wednesday night if Celtic are searching for a goal in their Champions League qualifying tie against Malmo, Forrest is one man who is in no mood to give up his first team spot. His 60-minute display against Kilmarnock in midweek was as strong as any he has produced in recent memory, even if Celtic ultimately drew the match. The 24-year-old will hope to carry that form into today’s home Ladbrokes Premiership meeting with Inverness Caledonian Thistle. “On a personal note I thought I played well, but it was obviously disappointing we didn’t get the three points, which at the end of the day is the main thing,” he said. “But it is good that we have a game against Inverness coming up so hopefully we can put that right.”