Ronny Deila will seek to extend the contract of Hoops winger James Forrest after nursing the Scotland internationalist back to full fitness.

Forrest shone for Celtic in the midweek win over Malmo at Celtic Park and Deila believes that he is the kind of player that can make the difference for Celtic if they qualify for the Champions League group stages.

The 24-year-old’s career has been plagued with injury since breaking into the first-team at Celtic but after essentially resting Forrest for a season, Deila believes the player can recapture the form of which he is capable.

Asked whether or not Forrest is the kind of player that could attract suitors to shell out millions for his services, Deila said: “Or hopefully a lot of trophies. We want to extend his contract because he is a player we want to have in the future.

“This is just the start for James Forrest. When he gets consistent in training and matches he can get out his full potential. Everybody here has seen good football players before and you can see that he has something that is not easy to get.”

And Deila believes that Forrest can be a significant performer this season for Celtic as they strive for domestic success coupled with making inroads in the European arena.

Having essentially shut the player down for a campaign in order to rid him of the repeated injury problems, Deila believes his time has come to step up now and kick on with his career.

“ I told him in November last year that the Champions League qualification next year was when he was hopefully going to be the difference for us because he has something special,” said Deila. “But I knew he had a long, long way to go to come back after all his injuries.

“ I told him that he needed to be patient but now you can see more and more with his consistency and the work rate he had on Wednesday night – I am in love with the guy when I see him like that. If he can get up to that level and do even better then we have a top, top international player in our squad.

“He is a humble guy, he really wants to learn and now he trusts his body much more. It was just fantastic to watch him on Wednesday night.

“In the last four years he has been out for 560 days. That is two years out of four, out and in. Every time he was ready he was pushed into the team because he is so important for the team but you don’t get the best out of him. We have protected him, we have built him up and now he is starting to play more regularly than he had done.

“At Kilmarnock last week, it could not have been easy to be a full-back against him. He needs to work hard, the same as the other team-mates and that was where we were happy - his reactions in the game were much, much better than they were before.”

Meanwhile, Jason Denayer’s situation is one which is still interesting the Celtic manager.

The defender is expected to be loaned out again this season and Deila hasn’t ruled out a return to Glasgow.

“We have our ears and eyes open all the time, everywhere,” he said.

“We try to find good signings and do the best we can so that on September 1 we have a stronger squad than right now.

“I am aware of everything that is happening.

“I don’t know any more than you. He is a Manchester City player, but if he wants to come back here and City wants it then of course it is something we look at.”