FRASER Forster is a player Celtic will struggle to keep.
That realisation appeared to be dawning on just about everyone - not least the goalkeeper and his club manager - in the hours which followed the Englishman's defiant, if ultimately fruitless, efforts to keep out Barcelona at Parkhead on Champions League duty last week.
If it remains mystifying that the 6ft 7in 25-year-old has not received a solitary cap for his country - that slight will surely be rectified in Roy Hodgson's next international friendly - of more lasting import is his club future.
Whether or not Forster graces the World Cup in Brazil next summer, it requires the use of a crystal ball to determine whether the man who has been linked with Barcelona and Benfica will still be a Celtic player if he does so.
"I have got to be realistic and honest, and it's going to be difficult to keep him the way he's progressing," said Neil Lennon. "That's no slight on us. I don't know when it will be, down the line, but I do hope he goes to one of the big clubs because I think he has the game for it.
"The three games he has played against Barcelona, he has been unbelievable. There was interest in him from Benfica, not concrete interest, but definitely an interest, so he's turning a lot of heads at the minute and it doesn't surprise me. This kid is playing in the Scottish league and he's on the verge of being the No 1 England goalkeeper. That's incredible itself when you actually say it, but it's testament to his talent."
Considering Lennon feels the abilities of Forster to keep Celtic competitive in games even when they are being outplayed are "the difference between us now and maybe a few years ago", it almost goes without saying that he would take some replacing. But then, any auction between a number of top clubs for a player under contract until summer 2016 in the premium position of goalkeeper would guarantee top dollar.
Forster himself, speaking for the first time after his midweek display, was certainly less than definitive on the topic of where his future lies. "I don't know," said the native of Hexham in Northumberland. "The transfer window has shut. I'm here to January at least so we'll wait and see.
"[Hodgson watching at Parkhead on Tuesday] is just an added bonus. We need to pick up points in the group and it's a collective thing. It's not about me as an individual, it's about doing well for the team. But the draw in the other game has helped us."
While Forster has years remaining on his contract, it is worth noting that those of a few other notables are winding down. Lennon has spoken often of his need to keep a core of long-serving players around the place, to weld together the club's pet projects or work-in-progress players, but the next six months or so will go a long way towards determining who will inhabit that inner sanctum.
While Forster, were he persuaded to stay, is potentially one such figure, it has passed by almost unnoticed that Georgios Samaras is also out of contract this summer and, should he continue with his midweek form, may not be short of offers. Joe Ledley - another of the top earners at the club, and a man likely to deputise for the suspended Scott Brown against Ajax on October 22 - has yet to sign an extension to keep him at the club beyond the summer, while the future of Anthony Stokes has long been a source of intrigue.
"Sammy is a magnificent player and it's a real honour to play with him," Forster said. "He is a big-game player and he never surprises us any more. He is like a man possessed in the Champions League. He just rises to the challenges of these big games. He is obviously coming to the end of his contract, so it will be interesting to see what happens. It's between him and the club, and what he wants to do with his career."
"Hopefully Joe will be fit by the time of the Ajax matches and back in the squad," he added. "He is a tremendous player … and another one who is coming to the end of his contract."
Stokes, another relishing new-found favour at international level after years in the wilderness, is a paid-up member of the Forster fan club. "If you look at Fraser he seems to always come up with the big saves in big games," said the Irishman. "I can't tell the England manager who to pick but it's only a matter of time before he gets his chance - he's that good. You see him against Barcelona, and all the big teams in Europe. If he was put in it wouldn't faze him."
Agreement between Celtic and Stokes is elusive but the player's form is doing him little harm. "I think it's age and I think sitting out of the Champions League last year and missing all the big games made him [Stokes] realise what he had," Lennon said. "He has always been, believe it or not, incredibly fit. He doesn't look it, he takes his top off and you think 'f***ing hell'. But he's naturally gifted in terms of his athleticism. He's never been the quickest, we know that, but his cardiovascular capacity is very good. He can play at [Champions League] level and he's proved that in the two games so far."
On the subject of struggling to keep people at the club, it might also be worth a mention of the manager, who proved - to watchers perhaps including Barclays Premier League directors from the north-east looking for managers - that last year's tactical success against Barcelona was no fluke. "The gaffer has been exceptional here and the fans love him," Stokes said. "He has done a great job, so why would he want to leave?"
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