French national team manager, Didier Deschamps, will certainly have an eye for a good player. There are very few in history with the CV that he has, having won the World Cup both as a player and a manager. On the other hand, he lifted the Champions League on two occasions during his playing days as well. And he recently namechecked a Celtic player.
Deschamps was expected to leave the France national team job after the 2022 World Cup. But Les Bleus managed to reach the final, only losing to Argentina on penalties, and he ended up extending his contract as manager of the team.
France are set to take on the Republic of Ireland national team in the ongoing UEFA EURO Qualifiers. And Deschamps namechecked a Celtic player while talking about the strength of the opposition and their new generation of players.
As reported by Football Scotland, Deschamps said:
"“There is a new generation with new players, Ferguson poses a threat – he is a good player, Johnston as well has joined the team, it is a mix of young and experience.”"
France national team boss Deschamps namechecks Celtic player
It was just recently that Johnston made his debut for the Republic of Ireland national team. And to be fair to him, he did impress with his performance on the day.
Johnston has had a rough time at Celtic Park recently, and he barely featured over the past several seasons, struggling with a series of injury problems which kept him on the sidelines. Things seem to have improved in that respect this season though.
Johnston has been sent out on loan to Portuguese side, Vitoria SC, and he has done a decent job there. But the most important thing is that he has managed to remain injury-free, which is what Celtic would have been looking for.
Johnston was very highly rated at Parkhead before his struggles with injuries. He is expected to return at the end of the campaign and hopefully he will get the chance to show what he is capable of next season.