Joe Hart will call an end to his illustrious career at the end of the current campaign, with this Saturday's Scottish Cup final against Rangers bringing down the curtain on a 20-year trophy-laden football odyssey.
Hart has been an important cog in the Celtic machine over the past three seasons, having arrived during Ange Postecoglou's first season at the club. Despite having his critics throughout his stay in Glasgow, the Englishman has gone out on a high, winning his third consecutive Scottish Premiership title before receiving the acclaim of the Celtic support at full-time.
Brendan Rodgers has recently suggested that this summer's recruitment process is underway and there is no doubt that Celtic will already have a shortlist of replacement goalkeepers from across the globe.
Celtic have been linked with a number of goalkeepers over the last few weeks, and there will undoubtedly be many more throughout preseason, leaving fans to separate the wheat from the chaff until we finally land a replacement number one.
It is common practice for agents to drum up interest in their clients by fabricating stories for the media and, with Joe Hart announcing his retirement three months ago, the goalkeeper rumour mill has gone into overdrive.
Several goalkeepers have already been linked to Celtic, including Caoimhin Kelleher, Uğurcan Çakır, Liam Kelly, Viljami Sinisalo and Koen Casteels, but another name that could excite Hoops' fans has been thrown into the mix.
Reports suggest that Spurs' boss Ange Postecoglou is preparing to offload Fraser Forster this summer in a move that would have many Celtic fans considering yet another reunion with a player who has previously signed for the Hoops four times.
Fraser Forster initially arrived at Celtic from Newcastle in 2010 and enjoyed two consecutive 12-month loan deals before moving to Glasgow permanently in 2012. Two years later, and with Forster christened 'La Gran Muralla' by the Spanish press following his heroics in Celtic's historic 2-1 defeat of Barcelona in 2012, the England international signed for Southampton for £10m.
Forster's Celtic story did not end there, however, as another season-long deal was struck in 2019/20, leading to memorable performances against Lazio in the Europa League and Rangers in the League Cup final, as Celtic won their fourth consecutive domestic treble.
When the big keeper's third loan spell ended, Neil Lennon wanted to bring Forster back to Paradise permanently for Celtic's tilt at ten-in-a-row. The deal couldn't be done and the Parkhead side turned their attentions to Greek international, Vasilis Barkas, who signed for a big money fee. We all know what happened next.
Forster eventually left Southampton for Spurs as a free agent in 2022 but has been used as a back-up, with just 90 minutes of action under his belt since Postecoglou took over.
Interest in ex-players is understandable. Fans enjoyed great success with former favourites like Paddy Roberts, Kieran Tierney, Odsonne Edouard and Fraser Forster, so it's only natural that their availability will pique the interest of many supporters.
In my view, bringing the 36-year-old back would be the wrong move for Brendan Rodgers. We have been linked with younger goalkeepers who have more scope for development, and this is where our focus should be when recruiting Joe Hart's replacement.
James McKenzie // @JamesWHMcKenzie
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