James Forrest (footballer, born 1991)

For other people with the same name, see James Forrest.

James Forrest
Forrest playing for Celtic in 2017
Personal information
Full name James Forrest[1]
Date of birth (1991-07-07) 7 July 1991 (age 33)[2]
Place of birth Prestwick, Scotland
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Celtic
Number 49
Youth career
2002–2009 Celtic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009– Celtic 325 (72)
International career‡
2008–2010 Scotland U19 13 (2)
2010–2011 Scotland U21 4 (0)
2011– Scotland 39 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 3 June 2024

James Forrest (born 7 July 1991) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Scotland national team.

Forrest joined Celtic's youth academy in 2003 and made his first team debut in the 2009–10 season. As a young player he was widely regarded as one of the brightest talents in the Scottish game. In November 2011, the Scottish Football Association's performance director, Mark Wotte, described him as being "the light in the darkness" of Scottish football. He has progressed to become a key player in a successful era for Celtic, winning twelve league championships.

Forrest played at every youth level for Scotland, winning 13 caps for the under-19 team, scoring two goals, and four caps for the under-21 team. He made his senior international debut on 29 May 2011 against the Republic of Ireland. He was part of the Scotland squad at UEFA Euro 2020 and UEFA Euro 2024.

  1. ^ A Record of Post-war Scottish League Players 1946/47 to 2017/18. John Litster and Scottish Football Historian magazine. 2018.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Soccerway was invoked but never defined (see the help page).