Fraser Forster, born in Hexham on 17 March 1988 (age 38), is an English goalkeeper now with Bournemouth, where he wears No 67. At 6ft 7in (2.01m), he was always going to be noticed; the useful part was that his game eventually grew into the frame.
He came through Newcastle United and had the kind of loan education young goalkeepers often need, getting senior football away from the reserve-team bubble. A spell at Stockport County in 2008-09 brought six league appearances, part of the hardening process before he was ready for something less forgiving.
Celtic took him from Newcastle in August 2010, initially as a developing goalkeeper with obvious physical gifts. Glasgow was where his career properly took shape. Forster was not a decorative keeper. He was imposing, calm, sometimes a little awkward-looking, and capable of making routine pressure look manageable.
By the time he left Celtic in August 2014, moving to Southampton for around £10m, he had become a goalkeeper the support trusted in serious matches. That fee was a fair reflection of the standing he had built at the club, not a punt on potential.
His years after Celtic took him through Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Bournemouth, with the usual complications that follow goalkeepers moving between established squads. The Celtic spell remains the part that carries most weight: Newcastle developed him, the loans toughened him, and later clubs extended the career, but in Glasgow he became a trusted goalkeeper rather than just a tall one.
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