Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou is confident another World Cup star, Canada’s Alistair Johnston, is coming to the club – as he was told he will be signing a “warrior” when they complete their swoop. The Hoops boss is closing in on a £3million deal to land full-back Johnston from Montreal and club and country teammate Kamal Miller delivered a rave review.
Postecoglou said: “We are looking to get stronger and he’s (Johnston) definitely one of the players on our radar. Hopefully there will be some developments in the near future and he can add something to our football club.”
Miller plays with Johnston for Montreal and Canada in defence and he's thrilled for his teammate at making a move to Europe he feels is long overdue. And has already accepted Johnston will be leaving to go to Glasgow and gave Celtic fans an idea of what to expect.
He said: "I'm so proud of Alistair. It's almost a shame that I had to play with him. I wish I could have sat in the stands and seen what the rest of the planet was seeing. On the pitch, he is the warrior par excellence and he deserves everything that is happening to him right now.
"In fact, I think everyone is a little late. He's been ready for this moment for a long time. The timing has been perfect for him. His value has increased because of his displays in this tournament. We have all shown here we are capable of playing against the best in the world. But we also have to accept that the movements and counter-movements of these top players are incredible.
"We also learned how much you have to watch these attackers closely. You give them an inch, they take a mile. That's what they get paid millions of dollars for. Overall, we are all proud, but we have high expectations and I'm frustrated that we're leaving here without a clean sheet and without even a point. As a member of the defence, I take a lot of the responsibility."
However, as Postecoglou prepares to welcome Johnston he warned he won’t be begging any wantaway stars to stick around. The futures of Celtic aces Josip Juranovic and Giorgos Giakoumakis, who Record Sport exclusively revealed earlier this week could be heading for the exit in January, are less clear, with the Croatian’s contract talks also stalling, which could lead to a January exit.
Postecoglou insisted he has transfer plans in place and won’t be losing any sleep over players who are looking to move. Juranovic has been linked with Premier League side West Ham, while Giakoumakis has grown frustrated at playing time as well as the offer of a new deal.
When asked if Juranovic and Giakoumakis were heading for the door, he said: “I don’t think too much about it unless something is presented to me. If players are unhappy, have concerns or are looking for other things, it’ll come to my attention pretty quickly and we’ll deal with it as we go along.
“Every transfer window is an opportunity for us to get stronger and better and that’s what we will be looking to do. It doesn’t always mean we will bring players in, it will be about not losing players that would weaken us.”
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