Celtic’s newest January recruit, Alistair Johnston, has revealed the conversations he had with former Hoops man Victor Wanyama before arriving a Parkhead.
The 24-year-old arrived in Glasgow to get to work, despite his winter transfer not officially getting underway until next month.
Johnston joined the Bhoys off the back of an impressive rise at club and international levels, performing for both Montreal Impact and Canada.
During his time with the MLS side, the defender came across a famous Celtic connection whilst sharing the dressing room with former Hoops midfielder Victor Wanyama.
When Celtic’s interest first came about almost two months ago, Johnston revealed that he turned to the Kenyan international for his thoughts.
And according to Johnston, Wayama provided a glowing report, stating that it is a place you would love to be and the perfect fit for the Canadian.
He said [Celtic FC]: “The interest from Celtic came up about two months ago.
“Victor Wanyama was still at Montreal at that point, so I brought it up to him and said, ‘there might be some interest from Celtic, what are your thoughts on that?’
“He’s played at some massive clubs, some Premier League clubs too, and he said there’s nothing quite like Celtic. To this day, when he’s back here, he gets recognised most of the time. Not for being a Spurs player, but for playing for Celtic.
“He said it’s the fans, the size and stature of the club, how well-known it is all around the world – it’s a place that you want to be, and he thought it would be a great fit for me.”
Wanyama’s close links to Celtic continue years on as teammate joins Ange Postecoglou’s squad.
Although Wanyama was only at the club for a few years before going on to achieve plenty at the top level, his time at Celtic clearly remains with him to this day.
According to Johnston, the former Tottenham midfielder couldn’t have spoken highly enough about his time at Paradise and helped seal the deal.
Now, I am sure he will be watching closely as his former Montreal Impact teammate begins his career at Celtic as he aims to emulate what Wayama achieved at Parkhead.
Maybe at some point, we could see the midfielder make a brief visit to his old club and catch Ange Postecoglou’s side in action.
I am sure he would be more than welcomed back at Celtic Park, particularly with his impact still being felt, helping the Bhoys secure the deal for Johnston in the January window.
In other news, “I want to be there”; Alistair Johnston shares details of first dialogue with Celtic boss.
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