Mikey Johnston is a ‘throwback winger’ with a licence to thrill but Joe Hart warned that respect is a two-way street.
The Celtic goalkeeper reckons Stephen Kenny has pulled off a real coup getting the Glasgow-born flyer to declare for Ireland.
And he insists the newcomer will have fans on the edge of their seats - but only if they shower him with love in return.
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Johnston made his debut off the bench in the recent friendly win over Latvia at Aviva Stadium, setting up the winner and going close to scoring himself.
And he made another electric impact against France, thrown in for the last 13 minutes as the Boys in Green chased an equaliser in their opening Euro qualifier.
Kenny feels the speedster was worth pursuing and believes he can make a valuable contribution in this campaign having put his injury nightmare behind him.
The 23-year-old missed the best part of two full seasons at Celtic because of various setbacks that stopped him in his tracks.
Sections of the Celtic support gave up on him, claiming he wasn’t good enough to play for the Scottish champions any more.
But loan star Johnston is piecing his career back together at Vitória Guimarães in Portugal, before returning to Celtic this summer.
Hart used to train with Johnston every day and the ex-England and Manchester City ace knows what makes him tick.
“Ireland are getting someone who is potentially very special,” Hart told Mirror Sport.
“He has a lot of ability and the kind of qualities that can lift people off their seats. I noticed that the moment I met him, but he’s been very unlucky with injuries.
“You have to really understand football to understand what he’s been through because they’re not your average injuries.
“People understand when you pull your hamstring and you're out for eight weeks but you come back and you're fine. Or if you break a leg.
“But Mikey had these little injuries that kept holding him back and stopped any sort of momentum and flow in his career.
“But he's very professional and is doing his best to get the best out of himself. A fully fit Mikey Johnston can impact games and he’ll get people out of their seats.”
But for Johnston to be more than a flash in the pan on the international stage, Hart feels his clubmate must develop a consistent streak.
Vitória Guimarães boss Moreno Teixeira raved about Johnston after his Ireland bow and believes Celtic will see a much improved player on his return.
Hart continued: “Mikey is a throwback winger, but he’ll be the first to admit that he must produce consistency - both availability wise and how he plays.
“If he does that, then I really think he’ll be a great acquisition for anyone. Those are the things he’s working on, but football is not that simple and straightforward.
“You don't just roll out of bed every day and automatically play your best. As long as he keeps his head down and keeps working, he can do that.
“Mikey is a confidence player, there’s no secret about that. But getting that feeling of positivity from the Irish crowd will do a lot for him.
“Mikey doesn't ‘need’ to feel appreciated, but if he is then you’ll see a lot of positivity out of him.
“If Mikey is cheeky and excitable, you're going to get a good player but when he's not, you need to get him back to those ways if you want to see the best out of him.”
Meanwhile, Hart is a big fan of fellow goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu and reckons his tough season with Southampton will be the making of him.
Ireland’s No 1 is in a weekly dogfight at the foot of the Premier Division but Hart has no fears for the 21-year-old.
“It’s tough but the Premier League is tough. It’s tough to break into and there’s not many slots for a goalkeeper,” said Hart, who won 75-caps for England.
“To be taken on like he was, for the money they paid, fair play to Southampton as they have backed him and they believe in him.
“It says more about him that he's still getting picked week in, week out despite some difficult results.
“They think he can be the guy who ultimately helps them get to their goal for the season.
“From my point of view as an older player, that’s huge respect they’re showing him and he should take confidence from it.”
Bazunu may be in a gruelling battle but he goes into June’s qualifiers with Greece and Gibraltar in pole position to retain the Ireland gloves.
Caoimhin Kelleher isn’t getting any action for Liverpool and of his nine appearances since June, six of those were for Ireland and four of them when Bazunu was injured.
Hart knows all about the pressure cooker of big clubs having been at Manchester City, Tottenham, West Ham, Torino and now Celtic.
But he doubts Kelleher is in the dark over his next steps as a host of rival clubs put him on their summer shopping shortlists.
Hart said: “He certainly won't just be turning up every day with no idea what the plan is. There will be a plan in place and a lot of conversations.
“Liverpool are very grateful to have him. But they have Alisson Becker and, oh my god, wow.
“But to have a young goalkeeper who steps up every time he's asked, I don't think they would bat an eyelid if Alisson was out for a certain amount of time.
“They would feel confident with him and especially after showing what he has got in the big cup games.
“But the team he has around him will be making those considerations and he will be talking to Liverpool. I don't think there is anything to worry about.
“He's certainly not going to go blindly down the corridor of being No 2 at Liverpool.”
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