James Forrest, born in Prestwick on 7 July 1991 (age 35), is a Scotland winger whose career has been overwhelmingly a Celtic one. A right-sided attacker wearing squad number 49, he came through at the club and made the kind of early impression that tends to stick: he scored on his first-team debut.
That was not a false start dressed up as a milestone. Forrest has gone on to make 366 league appearances for Celtic across 18 seasons, scoring 74 league goals. His best league return came in 2018-19, when he scored 11 times in 33 appearances, a reminder that his value has never been only about longevity.
The honours column is substantial, and in this case it tells the story fairly enough. Forrest has won 13 Premiership titles, six League Cups and six Scottish Cups with Celtic, while also being part of sides that finished runners-up in three Premiership campaigns and two Scottish Cups. Few modern Celtic players have been so consistently present through so many successful years.
He remains part of the current Celtic squad. In 2026-27, he has made four league appearances, along with one in the League Cup and five in the Scottish Cup, giving him 10 appearances across all competitions so far. His current market value is around £255,000, according to Transfermarkt.
Forrest’s career is not complicated to place. He is a Celtic academy player who became a long-serving first-team player, a regular contributor, and one of the major domestic figures of the club’s modern era.
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