Norwich City old boy Fraser Forster looks primed to inherit Craig Mackail-Smith's crown as the Canaries' rumour-in-chief of the second half of the transfer summer season.

The Sun have put Norwich back in the frame with another of Forster's loan outposts Celtic as potential permanent destinations for the Hexham-born stopper, who is currently third in the pecking order at parent club Newcastle.

City have reportedly lined up a �2m offer according to that particular tabloid following Celtic's knock-back last week around the �1.5m mark.

The 23-year-old spent last season at Parkhead – keeping 24 clean sheets for Neil Lennon's side and picking up a Scottish Cup winners' medal – but Magpies' chief Alan Pardew, according to the The Scotsman, is reportedly critical of the standard of the SPL. Which would surely hint at a third consecutive season-long loan move? Whether Pardew is willing to loan Forster back to a Premier League rival is the obvious moot point.

Hoops' boss Lennon offered a diplomatic response to Pardew's alleged criticism of top flight football north of the border.

'I'm not going to go down the road of commenting on other managers' opinions,' he said. 'But I think Fraser improved as last season wore on. He was a relative nobody really, when we signed him on loan. We gave him an opportunity and he improved a hell of a lot.

'For us to keep that continuity going at the back, it is worth us putting a bid in for him. Fraser has made all the right sounds to us about wanting to stay with Celtic. A bid has gone in. At the minute, Newcastle are saying he is not for sale but we will maybe pursue it again later on.'

Another previous entry on the Rumour Mill listings, Blackburn's midfielder Keith Andrews, is being lined up for a �2m move to Nottingham Forest.

The Daily Mail believe Steve McClaren will 'swoop' for the Republic international to begin his City Ground revolution. Which doesn't necessarily mean offloading ex-Norwich striker Robert Earnshaw. The Welsh assassin is out of contract in a matter of days.

'I want to speak to Robert Earnshaw. I have spoken to his agent, but I would like to speak to him,' McClaren told the Nottingham Evening Post. 'He is away on holiday at the minute, so we will try to do that when he gets back.'

Finally a man familiar to fans of both Norwich and Forest. Chelsea's Ryan Bertrand could be heading for a reunion of his own with Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers, who he worked with in the Stamford Bridge junior ranks. Black Country duo West Brom and Wolves are also monitoring the young left-back's situation.