Stephen McGowan shares transfer update on Celtic star Mikey Johnston, wanted in England

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Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has already clarified that he would like to move some fringe players on before the end of the month.

Rodgers previously explained his motivation behind trying to rehome some peripheral first-team figures at the start of January.

The Irishman stated [Scotsman]: “For the players themselves and for their football careers, they need to play. For financial reasons, you can’t be carrying numbers of players each month who aren’t contributing. It then allows us the opportunity to bring players in. That’s just a natural process.

With just over a week left in the transfer window, there have been a few surface-level outgoings at Parkhead. Yosuke Ideguchi has departed to join Vissel Kobe on a permanent basis; meanwhile, Hyeokkyu Kwon and Adam Montgomery have left for St Mirren and Motherwell, respectively.

On the same token, Liel Abada could make a surprise exit this month under a cloud after West Bromwich Albion, Watford and Southampton expressed a desire to offer the Israel international a temporary escape route away from Parkhead.

Conversely, the Bhoys are believed to have no interest in parting ways with the 22-year-old. However, the situation may develop after it emerged that Abada has found his last few months in Glasgow difficult.

Celtic winger Mikey Johnston eyed by West Bromwich Albion

Mikey Johnston has re-emerged as a Celtic player this season after a period in the wilderness, registering two goals and two assists in 11 appearances across all competitions [Transfermarkt].

Nevertheless, Hoops manager Rodgers has called for the Republic of Ireland international to show a higher level of ‘robustness’ if he wants to remain at Parkhead long-term despite his clear raw talent.

Daily Mail journalist Stephen McGowan has now indicated that the 24-year-old has interest from elsewhere, namely West Bromwich Albion, who are believed to be exploring a swoop for the winger before the transfer deadline.

There is no clarity in the report to spell out whether the Baggies would be keen to land Johnston on a loan deal or permanent basis; however, their attention does come at an interesting time in his career.

Nicolas Kuhn could reduce Mikey Johnston’s Celtic minutes

Of course, the one shining positive of this transfer window for Celtic is the arrival of Nicolas Kuhn from Rapid Vienna for a fee in the region of £3 million.

Profiled by Rodgers as a winger with ‘great pace’ and someone with an ‘excellent level of quality’, the former Germany Under-20 international could push Johnston further down the pecking order at Parkhead.

Sometimes, in football, players have to put their careers first, and it remains to be seen if Johnston will want to stay at Celtic if his minutes are diminished by Kuhn.