Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has told Celtic’s official website that James Forrest was thinking of leaving the Glasgow giants when he arrived at Celtic Park.

Rodgers was appointed the Celtic manager in the summer of 2016, and he was in charge of the Glasgow giants until February 2019 when he left for Leicester in the Premier League.

Forrest has been on the books of the Hoops his entire professional club football career so far.

Former Liverpool manager Rodgers has raved about the 28-year-old winger, and has claimed that the Scotland international was thinking of leaving Celtic back in the summer of 2016.

Rodgers told Celtic’s official website: “Then you get Jamesy. When I first went in there, he was thinking of leaving but very quickly we worked together over the course of the pre-season, and we just needed to add goals to his game and get his fitness levels up.

“In my time there, and from then on, with his consistency, his goals, his assists, and his experience, he’s been absolutely brilliant, and he is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever come across.”

Stats

Forrest has been hugely important in Celtic winning the Scottish Premiership title for the past nine seasons.

As stated on the Hoops’ official website, the winger has scored 88 goals in 395 appearances in all competitions for the Glasgow giants so far in his career.

According to WhoScored, the Scotland international scored 10 goals in 28 Scottish Premiership matches, and scored one goal and provided two assists in seven Europa League games for Neil Lennon’s side this season.

Forrest is one of the best players in Scotland, and the winger is at the top of his game, which is great for Celtic.