Portuguese coach makes brilliant claim about Celtic loanee

Mikey Johnston was the most highly rated player at Celtic while coming through the youth ranks. Many people believed that he was destined to be a first-team superstar and he backed that up as well, by making a very bright start to life in the senior team. Things have not gone his way in recent years though.

Johnston has had to deal with one injury after another in recent years, to the point where he had become an afterthought in the first-team. His confidence seemed to have suffered as a result as well, and he was struggling to perform at the level that he used to, even as a teenager.

Thus, a loan move seemed to be the right path for him this season, with first-team chances looking slim, and he was sent out to Portuguese club, Vitoria Guimaraes. And there, he seems to be already impressing people.

As reported by Record (via 67 Hail Hail), Vitoria Guimaraes assistant coach, Joao Aroso, said about Johnston:

"“Regarding Mikey, he is a player with quality, strong in the one-on-one, with many years at Celtic. He showed that in a difficult game. It’s not the easiest game for a player to debut in, but he’s used to strong environments.”"

Portuguese coach makes brilliant claim about Celtic loanee

Johnston made his debut for Vitoria Guimaraes by coming on at half-time for the Portuguese club in their game against Santa Clara, when scores were tied at 0-0.

The change seemed to have an immediate impact on the team as well, as they managed to score in the 48th minute of the game and then held on to that lead, to get a 1-0 victory.

Thus, it was a solid introduction to Portuguese football for Johnston and he will be hoping that he is able to carve out a first-team spot at Vitoria Guimaraes soon. Even more important for him though is to remain injury free.

The fact that Celtic sent him out on loan and did not try to move him on a permanent basis just goes on to show that the club still have not given up on Johnston. Now, it remains to be seen if he is able to play his way back into form.