Fabrizio Romano has weighed in on Ange Postecoglou and Celtic’s pursuit of right-back Alistair Johnston.
Over the past 48 hours, reports of the Hoops being interested in the Canada and CF Montreal full-back have been rife. Now, renowned transfer specialist Romano has had his say.
In an early-morning Friday tweet, he said: “Celtic are in talks to sign Canada and Montreal defender Alistair Johnston on permanent deal. Negotiations are ongoing, as @ManuelVeth called.
“Personal terms already being discussed but now still waiting on full agreement between clubs.”
While Romano sometimes acts as an aggregator online, his tweeting of the report suggests there is something to it.
Celtic are clearly keen on Johnston, who impressed in Canada’s opener against Belgium on Wednesday.
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The question may well now be: What happens to Josip Juranovic after the World Cup?
With Anthony Ralston still a very real option at right-back, do Celtic need Johnston and Juranovic? Or will the Croatian be moved on for a healthy profit in January?
Whatever happens, the Celtic support will be behind Postecoglou. On the face of it, Johnston looks like a pretty attractive option with plenty of experience on his side as well as real potential.
While Romano does say that a full agreement is still to be reached between Celtic and Montreal, the very fact that personal terms have been discussed suggests that there won’t be too many issues finding a suitable price.
With the MLS currently between seasons, this one may move pretty quickly once Canada exit the World Cup.