World Cup ace receives mixed reviews in his country’s media as Celtic move appears close

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Celtic want Alistair Johnston and the Canada defender has received mixed reviews after Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of Belgium.

The Bhoys have already secured their first January signing having agreed a deal for Vissel Kobe defender Yuki Kobayashi on Wednesday.

Ange Postecoglou did though hint that Celtic have more signings in mind and maybe some are World Cup players.

That’s hugely exciting for Celtic and it seems like one of Postecoglou’s World Cup transfer targets is no longer a secret.

Celtic target Alistair Johnson receives mixed reviews

The Scottish Sun claimed on Wednesday that Celtic are targeting a deal for CF Montreal defender Alistair Johnston.

The rumour is moving rapidly though as Transfermarkt claim that talks are now at an advanced stage.

Johnston is now expected to make the move to Glasgow in January with a deal moving in the right direction.

Johnston, 24, is currently over in Major League Soccer with CF Montreal and hit four goals as well as four assists in 33 games this past season.

A versatile performer who can play as a right-sided centre back in a back three, as a right back or as a right wing back, Johnston could end up being Josip Juranovic’s replacement at Celtic.

Johnston was in action for Canada at the World Cup on Wednesday night with Ange Postecoglou surely watching closely.

Canada were outstanding to watch but just couldn’t score against Belgium and ended up falling to a 1-0 defeat.

Johnston was given a real test against the likes of Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, with mixed reviews emerging in Canada.

Sportsnet rated Johnston at just 5/10, suggesting that this was one of his most disappointing games in a Canadian shirt.

They did praise Johnston’s diagonal passes to get Canada on the attack but felt he was exposed defensively.

The official Canadian Premier League website gave Johnston a 7.5 out of 10 though, praising a ‘solid’ performance.

They suggested that Johnston hardly put a foot wrong and proved just how important he is to this Canada team.

Celtic will likely view Johnston as a right back rather than as a right-sided centre back and will be encouraged by his distribution out from the back against a top-level opponent.