Anthony Ralston’s Celtic career is over already

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Anthony Ralston is loving life on loan at St Johnstone. Thank god because he’s unlikely to play for Scottish Premiership powerhouses Celtic again.

Fortunately, Anthony Ralston is loving life out on loan at St Johnstone. Because his chances of a return to Celtic look slimmer now than ever before.

It seems a lot time ago since an 18-year-old Ralston was being trusted to start crucial Champions League games against some of the most fearsome attackers on the continent. Brendan Rodgers famously gave an unproven teenager the unenviable task of marking none other than Neymar during a chastening home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 after all.

Back then, Ralston was being linked with the likes of Everton and Tottenham by ESPN and looked set to nail down the right-back slot at Celtic for the foreseeable future.

Few at the time would have dared to imagine that he would slip so far down the pecking order at Parkhead. But after making just nine appearances in the last two seasons for The Hoops, the Bellshill-born defender was farmed out to St Johnstone in September with Neil Lennon seemingly unconvinced by a player Rodgers once tipped for the top.

And it seems that the door to a return has slammed shut already.

In Jeremie Frimpong, Celtic now have a right-back who is younger, quicker and even more talented than Ralston himself. The affable Dutchman has been nothing short of a revelation since he joined from Manchester City.

Hatem Abd Elhamed might not share Frimpong’s electrifying pace or swashbuckling style but the Israel international is the kind of solid, dependable option that Celtic need in big games. Elhamed was brilliant in crucial wins against Rangers and Lazio in particular.

Then there’s Mortiz Bauer, the speedy Austrian who Celtic have an option to buy when his loan spell from Stoke City comes to an end, as reported by the club’s official website.

Thanks to a superb end to the transfer window, the Premiership leaders appear to have made the right-back position rock solid for years to come and it already feels unlikely that Ralston will ever pull on the green and white hoops again.

A permanent move to McDiarmid Park might be the best solution for all parties.

“I’m enjoying playing week in, week out,” he told the Courier on Wednesday. “I feel that my game fitness is building all the time.

“I’m enjoying my work Monday to Friday to get myself ready for a game and I’m enjoying going out in front of a crowd on a Saturday with points to play for. Celtic have had a great start to the season and had an incredible result in the Europa League but I’m happy with what I’m doing here.”