Celtic have been told Mikey Johnston will return to Parkhead at the end of the season 'with another status' as Vitoria Guimaraes boss Moreno Teixeira lauded praise on the on-loan winger.
Johnston has spent the season at the Portuguese outfit and has contributed three goals and as many assists from 22 appearances, having put his Celtic injury hell behind him. Tiexeira is convinced Johnston is now making huge strides in his development and believes the 23-year-old still has a future in the Scottish Premiership under Ange Postecoglou after grasping his Vitoria opportunity.
“Mikey Johnston is a young player who is still learning and we knew he had room to improve,” he told The Herald. “I was not mistaken: he has skill, speed and fits easily into any tactical system. He is growing in every way, becoming more and more useful for the team.
“He has three goals and three assists in 22 games played by Vitória SC, which is already a very good record for someone playing for the first time in the Portuguese Liga, one of the most competitive in Europe. We have excellent options for the wings and he deserved the opportunities he had, being a very competitive and professional both in training and in games.
“Naturally he should improve some aspects and he knows what they are, but I am not at all surprised by his call to the Republic of Ireland. He is a valuable winger, he has evolved a lot and, therefore, I believe he will have another status when he returns to Celtic at the end of the season”.
Johnston recently switched international allegiances from Scotland to the Republic of Ireland and drew praise for an impressive debut against Latvia last week. On his own future, he confessed that he just wants to play regularly and feel important.
He said: “Portugal has been really good. I had quite a bad time with injuries in the last couple of years. For a full year, touch wood, I have been fine and managed to get back to full fitness. Vitoria has been a great platform for me. They are in a big league and it’s really competitive.
“I have had a lot of starts, a lot of games, a lot of consistency, which is what I needed. Will I be back at Celtic long-term? We will see. I don’t want to sit on the bench. I just want to feel important.”
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