Credit: Imago

Oliver Walton

Thu 23 April 2026 15:30, UK

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Celtic may live to regret giving James Forrest another one-year contract extension considering Martin O’Neill’s recent admission about his injury concerns.

The club officially announced news of Forrest’s new deal on Thursday morning, with his existing contract originally set to expire this summer.

He is set to head into his 18th season as a Celtic first-team player, but will first want to lead them to another Premiership title under O’Neill.

The Hoops manager has recently insisted that he has been reluctant to start Forrest during the run-in due to his previous hamstring injuries.

It is not as if a new deal for Forrest will have impacted Celtic’s finances, but they may live to regret giving him a new deal right now, considering his past issues and the uncertainty around who their next manager will be.

Early James Forrest decision could come back to bite Celtic

Forrest has only started two Premiership games this season, with consistent injury issues restricting him to just 21 league starts over the last four campaigns.

He has mainly been used as an impact substitute since reaching his 30s, but his influence is clearly waning as he reaches the latter stages of his career, with just one goal and two assists in 36 games this season.

Celtic have found it tougher than ever before to compete for top spot in the Premiership this season, and should be moving on from players like Forrest if they want to be clear of Hearts and Rangers in 2026-27.

O’Neill admitted this week that he is “naturally a bit concerned” about handing Forrest more starts before this season ends due to the hamstring problems he has encountered in the past.

If he is worried about that now, then it certainly seems unlikely that the 34-year-old will emerge as a consistent option for the Hoops next term, especially under a new manager.

It would have made much more sense to wait and have the next boss, whoever it may be, offer their verdict on whether Forrest should have been given a new contract, rather than hand him one now.

Who could Celtic’s next manager be?

O’Neill will not be continuing at Parkhead beyond this term regardless of whether they clinch the Premiership title next month.

Sources have told Football Insider that O’Neill has been scouting for Celtic ahead of the summer, so it does seem likely that he stays on in some capacity, and could have a say on who succeeds him in the dugout.

Several top UK bookmakers have installed Robbie Keane as the 2/1 favourite to be the next Hoops boss, with Thomas Frank recently emerging as the second-favourite at odds of 7/2.

Roberton Martinez is leading Portugal into the World Cup, but is also believed to be in the running at 4/1 odds, with Jens Berthel Askou (5/1) and Craig Bellamy (7/1) also thought to be in contention.