Mikey Johnston is making the left side of the Celtic attack his own this season.
Neil Lennon is allowing the young Scot to flourish and get regular game time on the wing. However, the Irishman’s summer purchase of Mohamed Elyounoussi may change that. If the Norwegian displaces him for no reason other than injury, Johnston is going to be right to be aggrieved by that decision.
Mikey Johnston is coming into his own at Celtic
The 20-year-old was a bit part player last season under Brendan Rodgers and Lennon.
Two less than impressive starts at Ibrox showed that he had a lot of work to do. He did play as a bizarre lone striker in one of the showings where the entire team were thrown under the bus by Rodgers.
What last Sunday showed was that even in a relatively short space of time, Johnston is maturing.
The youngster was taking many players on at once and showed good awareness for his teammates.
Johnston is also popping up every now and then with goals, most recently away at AIK Stockholm.
Unfortunately, football is a cruel game at times and Johnston may fall foul to it. Celtic’s acquisition of Southampton loanee Elyounoussi may go to restricting Johnston’s future game time.
Hoops must use both players in right manner
Elyounoussi is coming into the club with a fantastic reputation from previous teams. He has even netted twice against The Bhoys in European competition with Molde.
However, the Norwegian international should be treated like any new player to the club and earn his spot.
It’s Johnston’s to lose right now and there is no reason he should be dropped.
However, Lennon can use this to his advantage as the club will finally have quality depth in an area that was lacking.
Hopefully Lennon rotates the two between European and domestic matches to set the balance.
If Elyounoussi hits the ground running, then fans will be clamouring for a permanent purchase next year.
However, if it doesn’t go to plan, then the Hoops haven’t really lost much as Elyounoussi goes back to Southampton.
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