BRENDAN RODGERS wants to keep contract rebel James Forrest at Celtic as CQN revealed last month.
The Scotland international winger has impressed the Irishman since he arrived at Parkhead in May.
Forrest rejected an extension from ex-boss Ronny Deila last season and is in the final months of his current deal.
Rodgers, though, is convinced the 25-year-old attacker wants to remain and play his part in the Parkhead revolution.
The former Liverpool boss said: “He wants to stay. I told him when I first came in that I thought he had been on loan for two seasons.
“I wondered where he was. I remember down in England watching him and I saw this young player who I thought was a real talent.
“He was fast, dynamic, could get at people and, for whatever reason, it hadn’t worked out for him in the last couple of seasons.
“Since pre-season, he has been absolutely first class. He’s starting to understand that he has to press the game and be aggressive and you saw that a couple of times against Hearts.
“And, as a winger, he has to create and score goals and he created the opportunity with good skill in the first part and it was a wonderful finish.
“He wants to stay, he pulled me in Slovenia and said he was enjoying the work and he feels an important part of the squad would like to stay.
“So, it’s between the agent and the club now to arrange that.”
