Alistair Johnston has opened up on his initial conversation with Ange Postecoglou, which made him want to get his move to Celtic over the line ‘right away’.
The 24-year-old became the Hoops second January recruit, following Yuki Kobayashi in the door before the window has even opened.
Johnston has got to work right away, taking part in his first training session at Lennoxtown amongst his new teammates this afternoon.
This evening, Celtic supporters were given a better insight into Johnston as a player and a person as he spoke to representatives from the mainstream and fan media.
Throughout all of Ange Postecoglou’s signings, there seems to be a key theme that convinces them to come to Parkhead, and that is their initial conversation with the Celtic manager.
That was no different for the Canadian international, who opened up and expressed some detail about his first conversation with Postecoglou.
Johnston insisted that after speaking with the former Socceroos boss, the Hoops felt like the perfect fit, and he was keen to get the deal done as soon as possible.
In a press conference attended by 67 Hail Hail, Johnston said: “No immediately. I think when you hear a manager, who speaks the same language in terms of what he wants to do and has the same vision as you as a player, that is something that really speaks to you.
“For me, he was trying to bring in a revolution of young players who had similar aspirations or who had a bit of a chip on their shoulder, wanting to go out there and prove something.
“And you know the style of football he wants to play, where he wants to be in Europe; it was something that really kind of just felt like a perfect fit, to be honest.
“It was like I was speaking to someone who comes from the same cloth. So, for me, it was just a great fit, and I knew before that Celtic was the club I wanted to go to, and after speaking to him (Ange), I said, ‘look, we’ve got to get this done right away. I want to be there’.
“So I was happy we could and just really happy to be here now.”
Ange Postecoglou continues to pull through on the transfer front for Celtic.
Despite having such a big job on his hands, in terms of recruitment at the club on his arrival in 2021, Ange Postecoglou has produced a near-flawless transfer record.
Across his three windows, the Celtic boss has been astute in the market and picked up some fantastic deals, which have helped the Bhoys kick on.
And he is looking to continue that trend going into his fourth window at Parkhead, signing Yuki Kobayashi and Alistair Johnston over a month before the market is even open.
As mentioned, each one of his signings are always so impressed by Postecoglou during their initial chat with the manager. So, that may be the reason the majority of his transfers have been so successful.
The right-back will be hoping to join that list when he gets underway at Parkhead from January the 1st.
He was certainly impressive in today’s press conference, introducing himself to fans. Here’s hoping he can be just as good on the pitch too!
In other news, Alistair Johnston wants to be like Kieran Tierney for Celtic; reveals common comparison with Chelsea legend.
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