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Fraser Gerard Forster (born 17 March 1988) is an English professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who plays as a
goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
for
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
club
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
. He will become a
free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
on 1 July 2025. Forster started his career with
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
and had brief
loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...
spells with
Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...
and
Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...
. He then spent a successful season on loan at
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...
, helping the club win the League One title and promotion to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
. Forster then joined Celtic on loan for the
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
season, and helped them win the
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
before becoming a permanent squad member in 2012 for a transfer fee of £2.2 million. Forster won many plaudits for his performances at Celtic and holds the Scottish top division record of 1,256 minutes without conceding a goal. In August 2014, he joined
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
for a reported £10 million. Forster had a generally impressive debut season in the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
, but sustained a serious knee injury in March 2015 which ruled him out for the rest of the year. On his return in January 2016, he quickly found form again and went on to set a club record of 708 minutes without conceding a goal. Forster's return aided Southampton's rise from thirteenth in the league to a sixth-place finish, earning them qualification for the following season's
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
. He would go on to win the Europa League later in his career with
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
, making four appearances in the group stages of that season's competition and keeping one clean sheet. Forster was selected for several England squads during 2012 and 2013 before finally making his first international appearance in November 2013. He was named in England's squads for the
2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
and
Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...
.


Early life

Forster was born in
Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administra ...
, Northumberland, the son of Brian Clive Forster QC (who later became a circuit judge), and attended the
Royal Grammar School, Newcastle The Royal Grammar School (RGS), Newcastle upon Tyne, is a coeducational private day school for pupils aged between 7 and 18 years. Founded in 1525 by Thomas Horsley, the Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne, it received royal foundation by Queen Eliz ...
, but did not begin playing as a goalkeeper until he was 13 years old. Before then he had mainly played either
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
or
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
. Coaches initially thought Forster might be too small to play as a goalkeeper, although he played for local junior team Stocksfield before joining the renowned Wallsend Boys Club. However, he entered a significant growth spurt at 15 years of age and later signed with
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
.


Club career


Newcastle United

Forster earned his first professional contract with Newcastle United, signing for their Academy in 2005. Forster was Newcastle's third choice goalkeeper in the 2007–08 season while
Tim Krul Timothy Michael Krul (; born 3 April 1988) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Luton Town. Krul's career began at youth clubs RAS and ADO Den Haag before moving to Newcastle United in 2005. At Newcastle, he m ...
was on
loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...
at
Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
, and played regularly in the reserves. However, in the six years he was signed to the club, Fraser never made a first-team appearance for Newcastle, mainly due to the fact that he spent most of his time on loan to other clubs, often lasting entire seasons.


Loan to Stockport County

With Krul back for the 2008–09 season and Given back to full fitness, it was the turn of Forster to go on loan. He was loaned out to
Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...
on 2 October 2008, to deputise for regular goalkeeper
Owain Fôn Williams Owain Fôn Williams (born 17 March 1987) is a Welsh professional football coach and former professional Association football, footballer who is the Head of Goalkeeping for EFL League One side Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers. Williams pl ...
while he was away on international duty with
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. Forster started his first match for Stockport on 7 October in the
Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...
second round, where they lost 1–0 away to Bury. He started his first league match for Stockport on 11 October, where his team drew 1–1 away to
Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...
. He returned to Newcastle on 1 November, after completing his loan stint at Stockport playing six league matches and keeping three clean sheets.


Loan to Bristol Rovers

Forster, having been on the bench for Newcastle on over 20 occasions in the Premier League, needed regular playing experience and subsequently signed a month-loan deal with
Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...
on 31 July 2009. He kept two clean sheets in the four league matches he played for them. Bristol Rovers asked to extend the loan but Norwich City made a counter offer which was accepted by Newcastle. Manager
Paul Trollope Paul Jonathan Trollope (born 3 June 1972) is a football coach and former professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association ...
was disappointed and commented that the team wanted Forster between the sticks. He stated "Fraser has a great career ahead of him".


Loan to Norwich City

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...
manager Paul Lambert was keen to sign Forster who he had seen play for both Stockport and Bristol Rovers. Forster then signed for Norwich City in a one-month loan deal. It was then extended to the end of January 2010 after making an impressive debut against Hartlepool in the 2–0 victory at Victoria Park. Forster received a
red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...
on 26 September 2009 against Gillingham for bringing Curtis Weston down in the penalty area, however this was considered to be a controversial decision. He made a blunder in a 2–1 defeat against
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
on 19 October, with a 90th-minute goal kick going straight to
Jermaine Beckford Jermaine Paul Alexander Beckford (born 9 December 1983) is a football pundit and former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He began his career as a trainee at Chelsea F.C., Chel ...
who scored. On 20 November 2009, Norwich announced that they had agreed a deal with Newcastle to extend Forster's loan until the end of the 2009–10 season, after impressing the Norwich faithful with his displays, helping the team shoot up the League One table. He was also allowed to play in Norwich City's cup matches. Norwich manager Paul Lambert praised "world class" saves and a terrific contribution to the team. In November 2009, Forster was awarded Norwich City Player of the Month. On 17 April 2010, Norwich secured promotion to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
with a hard-fought 1–0 win over
Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...
, with Forster pulling off excellent saves to deny Nicky Bailey and
Deon Burton Deon John Burton (born 25 October 1976) is a football coach and former professional footballer who played as a striker and who is the current manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion's under-23 team. His numerous clubs in English f ...
. One week later, Norwich's 2–0 win over Gillingham saw them win the League One title. In recognition of his contribution to Norwich's success, Forster was named the club's Players' Player of the Year 2010 and second in the Supporters' Player of the Year award. An excellent season at Norwich was completed by his award of the Macron Golden Gloves Award for the best record of clean sheets in the league, keeping 18 clean sheets in 38 league appearances and 20 clean sheets in 42 appearances in all competitions.


Celtic


2010–11 (loan)

On 24 August 2010, Forster joined
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
, originally on a season-long loan from Newcastle. Celtic manager
Neil Lennon Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He currently manages Scottish Championship club Dunfermline Athletic. During his playing career he represe ...
described Forster by saying, "He's a big boy, he's come highly recommended, his age is the only thing going against him because otherwise he's all the qualities you look for." He made his Celtic debut on 29 August 2010 away at
Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
and kept a clean sheet as Celtic won 1–0. He then went on to play in every match of Celtic's season with the exception of two cup matches. Forster had a successful season with Celtic, winning a runner-up medal in the League Cup and
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
. Between them, Forster and fellow goalkeeper
Łukasz Załuska Łukasz Załuska (; born 16 June 1982) is a Polish former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. After playing for Stomil Olsztyn (football), Stomil Olsztyn, Legia Warsaw, Ja ...
kept 23
clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...
s in the league, breaking Celtic's previous clean sheet record from the 2001–02 season. Forster kept 21 of the clean sheets. He capped off his season with a 3–0 victory over Motherwell to help Celtic win the
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
, Orlando City, Leeds United and
Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...
, as well as being named among the substitutes for the opening match of the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
season against
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, Forster rejoined Celtic, on loan for the remainder of the season, on 17 August 2011. He helped Celtic draw 0–0 against
FC Sion Football Club Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss Association football, football club from the city of Sion, Switzerland, Sion. The club was founded in 1909 and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have wo ...
at home, but then lost 3–1 in the away leg, only for UEFA to reinstate Celtic into the
Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
with 3–0 wins in both legs after Sion were found to have fielded ineligible players. He conceded goals in all of the five group matches he played in. Forster had a successful 2011–12 season with Celtic, winning the Scottish Premier League and helping his team beat the previous season's record of 23 clean sheets. He and Załuska kept 25 clean sheets combined, Forster racking up 21 of them. In December 2011, Hearts were awarded a controversial penalty in the final minute of a league match at Parkhead, with Celtic leading 1–0. Forster, however, pulled off an excellent save from Eggert Jonsson's penalty kick to secure three important points for Celtic. In total, he kept 26 clean sheets from 47 matches that season.


2012–13

On 29 June 2012, it was announced that Forster had signed for Celtic on a permanent deal with a fee in the region of £2 million paid to Newcastle United. On signing the four-year deal, Forster stated, "I'm very happy that I'm going to be at Celtic for the next four years at least", and added that "The manager's faith in me means a lot, I've loved my two seasons at Celtic and he's done so much for my confidence." Manager Neil Lennon described Forster as being a "top class keeper" and that he considered him to be an important addition to the squad. On 7 November 2012, Forster produced a resolute performance against
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
in the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
group stages, helping Celtic record an historic 2–1 win during the week of the club's 125th anniversary. Due to the calibre of his performance, the Spanish media nicknamed Forster "''La Gran Muralla''" ("The Great Wall"). In 2015, Barcelona forward
Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...
recalled Forster's performance, referring to him as "not human, it is the best goalkeeping performance I have seen". Forster continued to impress in domestic matches as well. In January 2013, Motherwell were awarded a soft penalty against Celtic. Bizarrely, referee Steven McLean allowed
Tom Hateley Thomas Nathan Hateley (born 12 September 1989) is an English-Monegasque former professional association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder (association football)#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder. He retired from profession ...
to take the penalty kick from ''in front'' of the penalty spot. Forster was yellow carded for his protests to McLean, but the goalkeeper went on to produce an excellent one-handed save high to his right. The following month in a league match against
Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
, Forster tipped over a powerful
Gary Harkins Gary Harkins (born 2 January 1985) is a Scottish professional footballer and coach who plays as a midfielder. Having come through the youth academies at Celtic and Blackburn Rovers he would notably play in the Scottish Premiership for Kilmarnock ...
dipping shot at full-stretch. This save was voted the SPL Save of the Season in May 2013. Forster went to win a second league title with Celtic that season, and completed a league and cup double on 26 May 2013 with a 3–0 win over Hibernian in the Scottish Cup Final.


2013–14

Celtic again qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the 2013–14 season, and again played against Barcelona at Parkhead on 1 October 2013, losing 1–0. Despite the defeat, Forster again impressed with several excellent saves, in particular an outstanding double save near the end of the match. Forster also pulled off a crucial save during a 2–1 win on 22 October 2013 over
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...
at Parkhead, saving from
Thulani Serero Thulani Caleb Serero (born 11 April 1991) is a South African soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Cape Town City and the South African national team. He started his career at Ajax Cape Town in the South African Premier Soccer League, ...
when he seemed to be clean through on goal. Forster's impressive performances for Celtic in the Champions League and involvement with the England international squad led to media reports in October and November 2013 that several clubs, including
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
and
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
, were considering to make a bid for the goalkeeper. In response to the press speculation, Celtic manager Neil Lennon commented, "It's going to be impossible to keep Fraser, the way he's playing," adding, "Inevitably, I think a huge club will come in and make a huge bid for him." On 2 February 2014, Forster set a new a club-record of 11 league clean sheets in a row, surpassing a record of ten clean sheets set by Charlie Shaw in the 1921–22 season. Forster's achievement was noted abroad, with the Spanish daily sports newspaper '' Marca'' awarding him their weekly "El Óscar" accolade to someone in football who has made an outstanding contribution in some way to their team. On 22 February 2014, Forster broke Bobby Clark's
Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 k ...
record of 1,155 minutes without conceding a goal in a league match. Celtic won 2–0 away at Hearts, and Forster racked up his 13th consecutive clean sheet in the league. Forster's clean sheet run finally ended on 1,256 minutes against
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
on 25 February 2014, with Jonny Hayes beating him from 30 yards to open the scoring in a 2–1 win for ''The Dons''. Forster finished the season with another league winner's medal as Celtic clinched their third consecutive
Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 k ...
title, and his form over the year saw him voted into the
PFA Scotland The Professional Footballers' Association Scotland (PFA Scotland) is the association for professional footballers in Scotland. It was known as the Scottish Professional Footballers' Association (SPFA), but that organisation was dissolved and repl ...
Team of the Year Team of the Year may refer to: * BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award * Canadian Press Team of the Year Award *GPA Gaelic Team of the Year * IRB International Sevens Team of the Year * IRB International Team of the Year * J.League Team of ...
alongside teammates
Virgil van Dijk Virgil van Dijk (; born 8 July 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captains both club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation and ...
and Kris Commons.


2014–15

Amidst speculation linking him with a transfer to
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
, Forster played in Celtic's first four matches in the
qualifying rounds Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
for the Champions League. Celtic lost 4–1 away at
Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...
, with Forster saving a penalty kick from
Ivica Vrdoljak Ivica Vrdoljak (; born 19 September 1983) is a Croatian former professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as a Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder. Club career Vrdoljak started playing football at his home ...
. Celtic eventually won the tie on away goals, after being awarded a 3–0 win for the second leg at home due to Legia fielding an ineligible player in that match.


Southampton


2014–15

On 8 August 2014, Celtic and Southampton agreed a reported fee of around £10 million for the transfer of Forster to the Premier League club. Southampton officially announced the transfer the next day, after Forster signed a four-year contract with the club. He made his Premier League debut on 17 August in Southampton's first match of the season, a 2–1 defeat away at
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. One week later, Forster kept his first clean sheet for the club in a goalless draw against
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
at home. By mid-October, and after eight Premier League matches, Forster had kept four clean sheets and conceded only five goals, at that time the best defensive record in the Premier League. Forster was at fault for
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
's goal in a 1–1 draw in November; coming out of his penalty box in an attempt to intercept a long clearance but missing the ball and gifting Gabriel Agbonlahor a goal. However, he was defended by manager
Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team. Koeman scor ...
, who stated, "He orsteris a great goalkeeper and that doesn't change after this mistake." Another error by Forster a month later in the League Cup led to the only goal in a surprise 1–0 win for
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...
. Those two mistakes, however, proved to be exceptions, as Forster's form generally continued to be very impressive. By 7 February 2015, another clean sheet in a 1–0 win away at
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...
saw Southampton move up to third place in the League. Fraser again gained plaudits, this time for pulling off a reflex save to tip a Charlie Austin downward header over the crossbar. The match was his 11th clean sheet in the Premier League, the best record among top-flight goalkeepers over the course of the season at that point. On 21 March 2015, in a match against
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
, Forster suffered a severe knee injury after clearing a back pass and was escorted off the pitch by medics, and replaced by Kelvin Davis. Koeman said Forster's injury was "looking bad" and that the doctors were "not positive". Up to this point, he had been ever-present for Southampton throughout the season and kept the most clean sheets in the League. Four days later, Southampton confirmed Forster's injury to be a broken kneecap and that he would be out for the remainder of the season.


2015–16

Although initially expected to be out for up to a year, Forster resumed light training in November 2015. On 6 January 2016, Forster played the full 90 minutes of an Under-21 Premier League Cup match against Chelsea, keeping a clean-sheet. He made his Premier League return on 13 January 2016, playing the full 90 minutes and keeping a clean sheet in Southampton's 2–0 win over
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
. Forster went on to keep clean sheets in his next two appearances, although he had little to do in any of his three matches since returning from injury. Forster's performance at Arsenal on 2 February 2016 in his fourth match was highly impressive and drew plaudits from many. ''The Gunners'' dominated the match, and had 11 shots on target as opposed to Southampton's three. Forster pulled off a string of saves in what ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' described as a "genuinely inspired goalkeeping performance". He saved twice from
Mesut Özil Mesut Özil (, ; born 15 October 1988) is a German former professional association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Known for his ball control, technical skills, creativity, passing skills, and vision, he is widely re ...
in the first half, saving his first effort at goal with an outstretched leg then parrying his second shot, a volley from close range, away to safety. In the second half a shot from
Alexis Sánchez Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez (; born 19 December 1988), also known mononymously as Alexis, is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Udinese and the Chile national team. He is often regarded as the ...
was saved so spectacularly that Arsenal's
Olivier Giroud Olivier Jonathan Giroud (; born 30 September 1986) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Giroud began his senior club career ...
was seen to turn towards Forster and applaud the save. A double save near the end of the match from
Theo Walcott Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented England at the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2012 and won 47 caps, scoring eight goals. Walcott currently appears as a cl ...
helped Southampton secure a hard-fought 0–0 draw. After the match, Koeman praised his goalkeeper, hailing his performance as "magic" and describing him as "one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League and maybe in Europe". Arsenal manager
Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...
also acknowledged Forster's showing, saying, "He had a brilliant game." On 13 February, Forster recorded his sixth consecutive clean sheet in a 1–0 win over
Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...
, a run which helped Southampton rise from 13th to 6th place in the Premier League since his return from injury. His clean sheet run lasted a club record 708 minutes until he was beaten by
Cesc Fàbregas Francesc Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who played as a central midfielder. He is currently the head coach of club Como. Fàbregas came through La Masia, Barcelona's you ...
in a 1–2 home loss to Chelsea on 27 February. Forster's form since his return from injury, and run of clean sheets, saw him win the
Premier League Player of the Month The Premier League Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League player each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to 1 ...
award for February. On 13 May, he signed a new contract until 2021. Southampton's 4–1 win over
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
on 15 May in their final league match of the season saw them finish in sixth place on 63 points, securing entry into the following season's Europa League and their highest ever points tally in the Premier League.


2016–17

Although first choice goalkeeper since his arrival at Southampton, it was only after the retirement of Kelvin Davis in the summer of 2016 that Forster was finally handed the traditional goalkeeper's "number 1" shirt at the club. Southampton made a poor start to the season under new manager
Claude Puel Claude Jacques Puel (; born 2 September 1961) is a French football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He spent his entire playing career with Monaco, before becoming manager of the club, leading them to the league title in his ...
, taking only one point in their first three league matches, but from mid-September onwards Forster went on a run of six successive clean sheets. This run of clean sheets helped Southampton rise up to eighth in the league. However, both Forster and his team endured a slump in form thereafter. A mis-kick by the goalkeeper against Crystal Palace on 3 December gifted
Christian Benteke Christian Benteke Liolo (born 3 December 1990) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club D.C. United. Benteke began his career at Standard Liège, playing a part in their 2008–09 Belgian Firs ...
an easy opportunity to open the scoring in a 3–0 win over Southampton. Southampton suffered an equally heavy defeat on 29 December against
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
, losing 4–1 in match where ESPN described Forster's distribution as "nothing short of appalling" and held him culpable for at least two of the goals conceded. Forster's poor form continued into January 2017, where it was noted his save/shot ratio was the worst amongst Premier League goalkeepers for the season to date. Despite indifferent form on the part of both Forster and Southampton as a whole, Southampton became the first team in history to reach the League Cup final without conceding a single goal. However, Southampton lost 3–2 to Manchester United in the final on 26 February 2017. Forster had a good match in Southampton's scoreless draw with Liverpool at Anfield on 7 May 2017; saving
James Milner James Philip Milner (born 4 January 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Brighton & Hove Albion. A versatile player, Milner has played in multiple positions, including on either wing, in midfield and ...
's 65th-minute penalty kick, and then pushing Marko Grujic's header over the crossbar in injury time. Although he had an inconsistent year, Forster did end the season with a total of 14 clean sheets, although his side finished eighth in the league and failed to qualify for European football in the following season.


2017–18

On 19 July 2017, Forster signed a new five-year contract, and described Southampton as being "a fantastic club to be at". His indifferent form, however, continued into the new season, with mistakes against Manchester United, Newcastle and Brighton all resulting in Southampton dropping points during the early months in the league. Despite these errors, manager
Mauricio Pellegrino Mauricio Andrés Pellegrino Luna (; born 5 October 1971) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, currently manager of Lanús. After nearly one decade with Vélez Sarsfield, he spent the vast majority of his ...
defended Forster, insisting he is a "really good goalkeeper" and that "the position of the goalkeeper is always exposed in this type of situation but nobody remembers the good situations." Forster was eventually dropped from the team in December 2017, replaced in goal by Alex McCarthy.


2018–19

By July 2018, Forster was pushed further down the pecking order at Southampton with the arrival at the club of Angus Gunn from
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
as back-up for Alex McCarthy. Forster made his first appearance of the season on 4 May 2019, playing the full 90 minutes of Southampton's 3–0 defeat at
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
, his first appearance for the club since December 2017.


2019–20 (loan to Celtic)

On 22 August 2019, it was being reported that Forster's former club Celtic had agreed a deal with Southampton for a season-long loan. There were three years left on Forster's contract with Southampton, but he had played just once for the club since December 2017. The loan move was confirmed later that evening. Forster was brought straight into the Celtic team, playing in their 3–1 win over Hearts on 25 August 2019. He had little to do until Hearts were awarded a penalty late in the second half. Forster saved Conor Washington's penalty kick, but the Hearts' player scored from the rebound. On 24 October 2019, Forster pulled off a last minute save from a Danilo Cataldi volley in a
Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
group stage match against
S.S. Lazio (; ; ''Lazio Sport Club'') is an Italian professional sports club based in Rome, most known for its football activity. The society, founded in 1900, plays in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian footba ...
(thus keeping the score to 2−1 to Celtic), following which the Italian newspaper
La Gazzetta dello Sport (; English: "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any type in Italy (in 2018). History and profile was fou ...
called it the "miracle of extended time". On 8 December 2019, Forster played against Rangers in the League Cup Final at
Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...
. With Rangers controlling the majority of the play throughout the match, Forster was called into action on many occasions. On 14 minutes, Ryan Jack struck a powerful 22-yard shot towards the top right of Celtic's goal, but Forster saved it at full stretch with his left palm. He made several other saves during the first half to keep Celtic level. Into the second half, a low ball was played from the left by Rangers across the Celtic goal;
Joe Aribo Joseph Oluwaseyi Temitope Ayodele-Aribo (born 21 July 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Southampton and the Nigeria national team. He began his club career at Staines Town then spent four years with Charl ...
looked set to tap it in at the far post, but Forster got a foot on it to clear. Rangers were awarded a penalty on 64 minutes: Alfredo Morelos took the kick for Rangers, but Forster dived low to his right to block it with his arms. Celtic won 1–0, and Forster was named
Player of the Match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...
. Manager
Neil Lennon Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He currently manages Scottish Championship club Dunfermline Athletic. During his playing career he represe ...
commented that "I've not seen a goalkeeping performance or goalkeeper like Fraser for a long time. In his first spell here, he did some incredible things and now he's doing it again in his second", adding that several of his saves were "world class". By March 2020, Celtic were 13 points clear in the league and well on the way to a ninth consecutive title: However, all professional football in Scotland was suspended later that month due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confirm ...
. Celtic were confirmed as champions in May 2020 following a league board meeting the previous week where it was agreed that completing the full league campaign was unfeasible. This saw Forster win another league championship medal with Celtic, bringing his total honours to eight winners medals in his two spells at the club.


2020–21

Despite media reports about Forster rejoining Celtic for another spell, he returned to Southampton for the 2020–21 season. On 4 January 2021, after regular goalkeeper Alex McCarthy received a positive COVID-19 test result, Forster was given his first start of the season against defending champions and league leaders at the time
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, and kept a clean sheet in the Saints' 1–0 victory. This was followed by clean sheets in his next three appearances, in the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
against
Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...
,
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
and
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...
. Forster finished the 2020–21 season having made 13 appearances for Southampton in all competitions.


2021–22

On 25 August 2021, Forster made his first appearance of the season in the EFL Cup, with Southampton beating Newport County 8–0 to secure their biggest away win in their history. Forster started in all of Southampton's EFL Cup games, until they got knocked out by Chelsea on penalties. Following injuries to both Forster and McCarthy, Southampton signed
Willy Caballero Wilfredo Daniel Caballero Lazcano (born 28 September 1981) is an Argentine professional football coach and former goalkeeper. He is currently the assistant coach of club Chelsea. He spent most of his career in Spain, representing Elche and M ...
on a short term contract. Despite this, once back from injury, Forster made his first Premier League appearance of the season in a 3–2 win against West Ham at the
London Stadium London Stadium (formerly and also known as the Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is loc ...
on 26 December. On 28 December, Forster kept his place in goal in Southampton's 1–1 draw with Tottenham.


Tottenham Hotspur

Forster signed a two-year contract with fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur on 8 June 2022; joining the club as a free transfer on 1 July, following the expiration of his contract at Southampton. He made his competitive debut for the club on 9 November, in their EFL Cup third round defeat at
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
. Forster played his first Premier League game for Tottenham in their 2–2 draw at
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...
on 26 December, deputising for
Hugo Lloris Hugo Hadrien Dominique Lloris (born 26 December 1986) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Lloris began his career wi ...
, who had played in the
2022 FIFA World Cup final The 2022 FIFA World Cup final was the final match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 22nd edition of FIFA's competition for men's national football teams. The match was played at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, on 18 December 2022, the Qatari ...
for
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
just eight days earlier. He made his home debut and kept his first clean sheet for the club in their FA Cup third round win against
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
. In February 2023, Forster was given a run in the team after Lloris picked up a knee ligament injury in Tottenham's win against Manchester City. He finished the season making 20 appearances for Tottenham, including a run of nine successive matches in February and then the final six games of the season. Forster sustained a back injury during the summer of 2023, and missed the club's pre-season tour of Australia and the far east of Asia. New signing Guglielmo Vicario became Tottenham's first choice goalkeeper relegating Forster to the substitutes bench. On 6 December 2023, Forster extended his contract with Tottenham until the summer of 2025. In the 2024–25 season, Forster made four Europa League appearances, helping Tottenham on the road to the final of the competition. Although not selected for the final, he picked up a winners medal for his contributions. On 31 May 2025, Tottenham announced that Forster would depart the club upon the expiration of his contract.


International career

On 4 October 2012,
Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstad in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to t ...
included Forster in his
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
squad for the
2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...
qualifiers against
San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...
and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. On 8 November 2012, Forster was then named in Hodgson's England squad for their upcoming friendly against
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. On 14 March 2013, Hodgson again included Forster in his England squad, this time for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
. On 27 August 2013, Forster earned his fourth inclusion to the England squad ahead of the World Cup qualifiers with
Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...
and
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, joining
Joe Hart Charles Joseph John Hart (born 19 April 1987) is an English football pundit and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He began his career at his hometown club Shrewsbury Town in the Football Conference and League Two. In ...
and
John Ruddy John Thomas Gordon Ruddy (born 24 October 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He is currently a free agent. Ruddy began his career at Cambridge United, before signing for Everton as a 19-year-old. He spent f ...
in competition for the goalkeeper's position. Forster won his first cap for England on 15 November 2013 in a friendly match against
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
. England lost 2–0 but Forster was "blameless" for both goals, making a "fine diving save" to deny Chile a third. This appearance against Chile saw Forster become only the second person ever to play for England while a Celtic player, after Alan Thompson in 2004. On 12 May 2014, Hodgson named Forster in England's 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In England's last warm-up match before the tournament, on 7 June, he replaced Joe Hart for the last 15 minutes of a 0–0 draw with
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
. Forster travelled to Brazil with the rest of the England squad but did not feature in any of the three matches England played. A knee injury saw Forster miss most of 2015, but his form on returning to playing football in early 2016 earned him a recall to the England squad in March. He played the second half of England's 3–2 friendly win over
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
in Berlin, making an impressive save from a
Marco Reus Marco Reus (; born 31 May 1989) is a German professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy. Reus spent his youth career at Borussia Dortmund, prior to l ...
free kick, although later conceded a goal from a
Mario Gómez Mario Gómez García (; born 10 July 1985) is a German former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He represented the Germany national football team, Germany national team ...
header. Forster played the full 90 minutes three days later on 29 March 2016 in a 2–1 loss against the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. Both goals conceded were controversial; Danny Rose protesting that the handball that led to the penalty for the Netherlands first goal was not deliberate, while Phil Jagielka appeared to be fouled in the build-up to
Luciano Narsingh Luciano Narsingh (born 13 September 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for Nea Salamina. He is right-footed and usually plays as a right winger but can also play as a left winger, and both side of attacking midfield. Since 2012 ...
's winning goal. Despite the defeat, Forster turned in a composed performance and made several excellent saves. On 31 May 2016, Forster was named in England's 23-man squad for
UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...
, although he was once again understudy to Joe Hart and did not play in any of England's four matches at the tournament. Following Euro 2016, Forster remained an unused substitute in subsequent England matches, and was dropped from the squad altogether in August 2017. In November 2019 he spoke about his desire to return to the national team set-up. On 23 March 2022, Forster was once again called up to the England squad for friendly matches against
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
and the
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...
. He was a late addition to the squad, replacing Sam Johnstone. In March 2023, almost seven years after his last cap, Forster was called up to the England squad for their
Euro 2024 qualifiers The UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from March 2023 to March 2024 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams that would join the automatically qualified host team Germany in the UEFA Eur ...
against
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. He was once again a late addition to the squad, replacing the injured Nick Pope.


Style of play

Despite his large build, Forster has a high level of agility; Ian Brown who coached him as a youth at
Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...
said that "he was and is an amazing shot stopper. I've seen him for
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
save shots he shouldn't, his body bends." In one-on-one situations, he appears to make his already large stature even bigger to an onrushing opponent. Forster was, however, criticised in the early part of his time at
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
for lacking confidence and command, and uncertain when he had the ball at his feet. In time he matured, with his confidence and kicking noticeably improved. His level of concentration was also noted; given Celtic's dominance over the majority of their opponents in Scotland, their goalkeeper often has long periods of inactivity, but when eventually called into action Forster was invariably alert and ready. In 2013, Italian goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is ...
praised Forster, stating that he had the potential to become one of the best goalkeepers in Europe.


Career statistics


Club


International


Honours

Norwich City *
Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...
: 2009–10 Celtic *
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
/
Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...
: 2011–12,
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
, 2013–14, 2019–20 *
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
,
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
*
Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...
: 2019–20 Southampton *
EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...
runner-up: 2016–17 Tottenham Hotspur *
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
: 2024–25 Individual *
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...
Players' Player of the Season: 2009–10 *Norwich City Supporters Player of the Season runner-up: 2009–10 * Celtic Players' Player of the Season:
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
, 2013–14 (shared) * Football League Golden Glove Award League One: 2009–10 *Scottish Premier League/Scottish Premiership Most Clean Sheets: 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14 *SPL Save of the Season: 2012–13 *Most consecutive league clean sheets for
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
 – 13 clean sheets *
Premier League Player of the Month The Premier League Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League player each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to 1 ...
: February 2016


References


External links


Profile
at the Tottenham Hotspur F.C. website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, Fraser 1988 births Living people Footballers from Hexham English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Wallsend Boys Club players Newcastle United F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Professional Football League players Premier League players UEFA Europa League–winning players England men's international footballers 2014 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2016 players People educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne 21st-century English sportsmen