The Celtic anomaly that underlines transfer necessity as old adage comes to the fore in keeper hunt

Artur Boruc set the Champions League gold standard and Fraser Forster upped the ante when dubbed The Great Wall.

Craig Gordon broke the heart of every team in Scotland as an Invincible and Joe Hart melted the heart of every fan with his emotional and successful farewell. Celtic’s hit-rate with goalkeepers in the past two decades has been absolutely vital in their sustained period of success. And, as Brendan Rodgers works to strengthen his squad for the next stage of his second Parkhead term, the No.1 priority and the No.1 task is to get the No.1 right.

For all the terrific signings, attacking showstoppers, striking heroes, midfield class acts and defensive stalwarts, trophy triumphs have been built on a top-class keeper. It’s no coincidence that, in the one season over the past 13 when Celtic didn’t win the title and flopped to win nothing, it was the one time they got it wrong. Vasilis Barkas was an error. Or perhaps the wrong man in the wrong movie. The Greek wasn’t the only one responsible for that miserable Covid term, but it’s not an accident the one flop season was connected to that flop signing.

The old adage says a good keeper is worth 10 points a season and, in Forster’s case, can get you Champions League wins into bargain. It was the Spanish media who gave the Georgie his nickname of La Gran Muralla after the phenomenal performance against Lionel Messi’s Barcelona which led to the famous 2-1 win. Forster’s task when he first arrived was unenviable, in the fact he had to take over from Boruc.

Colourful, controversial, no doubt the reason for several Gordon Strachan grey hairs, but brilliant and just the type of character needed for the job. He’d set the precedent for Forster in terms of Europe’s top table. His