‘Nobody can touch him’ – Hayes claims Celtic teammate has him terrified
By Harry Sykes
Jonny Hayes has revealed that he has always been a huge admirer of James Forrest and identified the Celtic winger as his toughest opponent during his Aberdeen days.
Forrest, 26, has come through the ranks at Parkhead to be an integral member of the team out wide and even impressed in a striking role in Saturday’s 5-0 demolition of Sunderland.
With Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele possibly sidelined for Wednesday’s crunch Champions League qualification second leg at Rosenborg, new signing Hayes backed Forrest to spearhead the attack.
“On his day, nobody can touch him and if he goes and plays that role through the middle in midweek, he can do more than just a job,” Hayes said, as quoted by the Scottish Sun.
“He can score goals, create chances and do really well there for the team.”
Forrest was a mainstay of the Celtic treble-winning side last season and kept Patrick Roberts out of the team in the first half of the campaign.
He scored eight goals and supplied 13 assists from 46 matches in all competitions in 2016-17, and, in total, has now netted 38 times from 237 Celtic games.
Hayes is in no doubts about how hard it is to place against the Hoops academy product.
“I always said whenever I dropped into left-back at Aberdeen, James was the only player I was worried about doing me for pace on the outside,” Hayes added to the Scottish Sun.
“Even if you try and make it a foot race he’s got that intelligence to come in and he’s decent on his left foot.
“He’s got a terrific turn of pace. Inside, outside, I’ve always been a big admirer of James — and he was outstanding up front.
“He is a very underrated player. I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves. He knows when to keep the ball and is of the highest calibre, having been at Celtic for almost a decade.
“James kept Paddy Roberts out the team for a long time last year and that shows how good he is.
In other Celtic transfer news, the Hoops are in advanced talks to sign a big name with a glittering track record in the Premier League.
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