FRANK McGARVEY, the former Celtic striker, has expressed his astonishment at James Forrest’s decision not to accept a new contract extension, and questioned whether the winger would even land an English Championship club should he elect to move on from the Scottish champions.

Manager Ronny Deila revealed yesterday that Forrest had turned down the club’s offer of a new four-year deal as he wants to consider other options. With Deila adamant that the club won’t return with an improved offer, it means the 24-year-old will be able to leave Celtic for nothing next January, when his current deal expires, if the impasse can’t be broken.

That has staggered McGarvey, who made more than 250 appearances for the club in the 1980s and remains one of their more fervent supporters. He believes Forrest has never fulfilled his potential after making his debut almost six years ago, and that the winger would struggle to even gain a move to English football’s second tier should he leave Parkhead.

“I’m amazed that he is turning down a four-year deal,” McGarvey told Herald Sport. “Why would he turn that down? Fair enough if every club in the country is after him but I don’t think that will be the case. I’m very surprised that he hasn’t bitten Celtic’s hand off and signed that deal because I think he was lucky to be even offered that length of contract.

“He’s a player who in the past showed great potential but he’s never really fulfilled it. He’s 24 now, so not a young boy any more. He should have grabbed that offer with both hands. Celtic have made him a good deal and at this point in his career I think he should be signing that. Where is he going to go now? What’s his next level? He’s not going to get a club in the English Premier League. Is he good enough for the English Championship? I don’t see a huge queue rushing in to sign him. So I’m really surprised by this.”

Forrest has struggled to nail down a regular place in the Celtic team in recent years, with a number of injuries stunting his progress. And McGarvey believes the club have sufficient resources to cope with the player’s impending departure.

He added: “I don’t think he will be any real loss to Celtic if he leaves. I don’t think too many fans will be shedding a tear. I certainly won’t be. To be honest I don’t think Celtic will be any worse off without him. They have made good buys this year so they are well stocked in those attacking areas. It’s no longer about Forrest’s potential, he is what he is now. He’s a good player on his day but at a club like Celtic you have to do that consistently. And because of injuries and whatever else, he hasn’t done that. He was a great player when he first came through but you have to be able to play like that week in, week out. And he doesn’t do that.

“He’s had injury problems in the past but it’s not just about that. He’s not injured just now, is he? So he should still be able to turn it on more than he does. There’s just no consistency. He doesn’t cross the ball often enough for me. He doesn’t score enough goals. He can take on defenders but he doesn’t do that enough for me, either. So he has those attributes to be a good player but he just needs consistency. If I was him, I’d be grabbing a contract and showing Celtic he can become the best player at that club. He could end up leaving and regretting it, just like a lot of players who left Celtic in the past and later must have wished they hadn’t.”

Deila had revealed he was disappointed “on a personal level” after learning Forrest would not commit his future to the club.

“We made him a very good offer,” the Norwegian told the Evening Times. “We offered him a contract and he has turned it down. I am disappointed on a personal level because we want to keep all of our good players at the club. But it has been made clear that he does not want to sign it. It was a good deal, a very good deal, that the club offered him and I don’t think that there could be any complaints on his part about it. It was a solid offer from the club.

“He has told us that he wishes to see what his other options are. He wants to know what else there is. It is disappointing but I think that will be it from us. I cannot see that we will go back to him with another improved deal because to my mind it was a very good offer that the club put to him. James is a great player and he is a player that we feel can get better. It is disappointing that he does not see his future with Celtic.”