Celtic have been dealt arguably their biggest blow of the transfer window so far, with one of their key players asking to leave. The Bhoys are already having to deal with exit of Daizen Maeda and the likely exits of Reo Hatate and Arne Engels.
But it now looks increasingly likely that they will lose key right-back Alistair Johnston to Everton, with talks ongoing between the two clubs
Johnston asks to leave Celtic
Up to now, it seemed as though Johnston was happy to stay at Celtic, but the Daily Record now report that the full-back has asked to leave for Everton.
The Toffees have seen offers rejected already, and they are said to be hopeful of striking a £14million deal, but Celtic may hold out for more than that.
It would be a surprise if Celtic accepted less than £15million, and in truth, they would be well within their rights to demand around £20million. Johnston is a proven full-back who just had an excellent World Cup, and that was after he had played a key role in winning the league and cup after returning from a long injury layoff.
Johnston is about as reliable as they come, and he is the sort of player who is likely to take a Premier League move in his stride, given his style of play.
The move could be particularly damaging for Celtic, too, given they already have holes aplenty to fill this summer, only managing two new signings so far, and there will be little confidence that the club can quickly find and sign a suitable replacement for such a key player.
The Bhoys have their Champions League qualifiers in just a couple of weeks, with their first and second leg against LASK taking place across August 18 and 25. Losing Johnston before then would be a huge blow, and the Hoops also need another left-back to add cover for Kieran Tierney.
What O'Neill has said about the Johnston situation
Speaking recently, Celtic boss Martin O'Neill said: "Ideally that would be brilliant, that would be really good. We wouldn't know if the other clubs would want to pursue that, if that was the case. I'm quite sure that anybody starting off in their own particular leagues would want their players in as soon as possible."
Asked about wanting to keep Johnston until the play-offs have been played, he added: "Ideally, that would be brilliant, that would be really good. We wouldn't know if the other clubs would want to pursue that, if that was the case. I'm quite sure that anybody starting off in their own particular leagues would want their players in as soon as possible.
"But ideally, that would be great. I think that's one of the things we'll definitely be looking at. I seriously could not say for sure. You'd have to take the players' thoughts into consideration and maybe the other clubs."
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