I HAVE to say that I laughed when I saw the figures quoted for James Forrest this weekend.

£8m? That might get you his big toe.

Aside from the fact that the lad himself has signed a long-term deal with Celtic, the club he has been with since primary school, the money quoted for him is laughable.

We are not talking about a pup at 16 or 17. We are talking about a boy who has scored goals at international and Champions League level and who has blossomed into an winger who guarantees double-figure goals.

So spare me the £8m chat. If – and it is a big if – there was anyone looking at Forrest then they would need to triple that number just to get Celtic interested.

The days of English clubs coming in and getting players for pennies are long gone. Peter Lawwell isn’t the type to let players slip out of the club without getting their market value and in Brendan Rodgers you have a guy who knows exactly what a player is worth.

So you can forget anyone coming in for Forrest or any other player and taking them away for a song.

I think what we have seen from Forrest really since Brendan arrived at Celtic is a player who is at the very peak of his game.

He has been so pivotal to the way that Celtic have played and never once have you heard him agitating for a move.

There is a suggestion that Forrest will go on to become the most decorated Celtic player of the modern era and that will mean a lot to him too.

But right now it is little more than chat.

If Liverpool or anyone else want him then they will have to have very deep pockets.