Celtic have already received one major windfall this summer, with Jeremie Frimpong heading to Liverpool. There could be a few more in their future as well with multiple former players being linked with moves away. That includes names like Oh Hyeon-gyu, Matt O'Riley and Alexandro Bernabei. But one such move has collapsed at the last minute and for an unexpected reason as well.
Quite a few players have made the move to the English Championship in recent year, having failed to make the grade at Celtic. Unfortunately, one name that falls under that category is that of Mikey Johnston.
Once considered the next big thing to come out of the Celtic academy, injuries derailed the winger's promising Parkhead career. Soon enough, he found himself out of the first-team picture and after a couple of loan spells away, he moved to West Bromwich Albion on a permanent basis.
As reported by Anthony Joseph, Johnston’s move to Flamengo has stalled. Reports in Brazil state the club plan to withdraw from the £5m deal, after a backlash from supporters. He was due to fly to Rio, but will now rejoin West Brom in Austria.
Celtic blow as transfer collapses at the last minute
That is certainly a unique reason for a transfer to collapse. It means that Johnston will stay at West Brom, unless they are able to find him another home.
He moved to West Brom from Celtic for a transfer fee in the region of £3 million. So, the move to Brazil most probably would handed a the Hoops a sell-on sum. But it was not to be.
Let's see what the future holds for Johnston. We can only wish him well after the amount of time he spent at the club. No mater where his future lies, hopefully it will be a success.