Ex-Celtic striker Chris Sutton has backed his former teammate David Marshall to return to Parkhead if they are unable to secure a deal for Fraser Forster this summer.
Marshall actually made his Hoops debut while Sutton was in the first team, and speaking about a possible bid for the Wigan Athletic shot-stopper, the BT Sport pundit said he wouldn’t be against a move for the 35-year-old:
“I don’t know if Lennon rates David Marshall or thinks he’s good enough to be his out-and-out No.1, but he’s the one that I would be looking at just now in terms of a safe bet.”
“Is he as good as Forster? No. But he does have an awful lot going for him in terms of Celtic’s situation right now.”
There is no doubt that Marshall would have the experience to come in and do a job. The veteran has over 500 appearances in senior football, while he has been capped by Scotland 33 times.
He would, though, only be a short-term solution considering his age and it will up to manager Neil Lennon to decide whether he wants to go after a younger keeper who could be the established number one for years to come.
AEK Athens’ Vasilios Barkas has been suggested as a potential alternative but it has been reported that he would cost £5m.