Brendan Rodgers has already hinted Everton are signing their new Seamus Coleman as £10m+ bid lined up

Everton are finally closing in on solving their long-standing right-back issues.

Seamus Coleman left Hill Dickinson Stadium at the end of last season when his contract expired, leaving Nathan Patterson the only out-and-out right-back among David Moyes' options ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.

However, Patterson's time on Merseyside has been marred by injuries, with the Scotland full-back playing just nine times in all competitions last season.

However, Moyes now seems to have found the solution to his issues by looking to his home nation again, with Celtic's Alistair Johnston in his cross-hairs.

Johnston, 27, has impressed at Parkhead over the last three-and-a-half years and after a series of strong performances for Canada at the World Cup, he's now a right-back of interest to Everton.

And with the new season just weeks away from kicking off, it appears the Blues are stepping up their efforts to sign the Celtic ace.

Update on Everton's 'official offer' for Alistair Johnston

According to the Daily Record on Wednesday, Celtic are bracing themselves for Everton to submit an offer for Johnston.

While it is understood that an "official offer" has not yet been tabled, Moyes is lining up a bid that exceeds £10million.

Celtic signed Johnston from MLS outfit CF Montreal for £3m in 2023, meaning the Scottish Premiership champions are set to bag a major profit on the Vancouver-born flyer, who's made over 120 appearances for the Glasgow club, scoring seven times and supplying 24 assists.

Goodison News has already covered how well Johnston did at the World Cup earlier this summer, adding further fuel to the fire of why he's wanted by Moyes.

And while Johnston's attacking qualities tick plenty of boxes for what Everton are looking for in a right-back, Brendan Rodgers' previous comments on the Canadian suggest that they're zoning in on signing a solid successor for Coleman.

What Brendan Rodgers said about Johnston is music to Everton's ears

There's a gulf in quality between the Scottish Premiership and the Premier League, with plenty of players making that move over the years and not really stepping up.

However, you only have to look across to Anfield to see how Virgil van Dijk has proven to be a success story after moving south; John McGinn, Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney and Kristoffer Ajer are among others.

But what really should make Evertonian's hopeful of Johnston joining that list is that Rodgers sees the Canada international as someone with brilliant leadership qualities, which should add an extra dimension to his impact at Hill Dickinson.

Speaking in October 2024 after a win against Dundee, Rodgers said: "Alistair Johnston has got the feeling now of scoring goals so he’s hungry. But he’s top class, he’s a real leader, very strong defensively and a tough boy mentally. He’s done fantastic for us."

A month later, after Johnston signed a new contract, the former Liverpool manager said: "Everyone at the club felt it crucial that we extend Ali's contract and I am delighted that we have been able to do this.

"In a relatively short period of time he has established himself as a fantastic player for Celtic, showing real quality and just delivering performance after performance for us, week in, week out."

Coleman was made Everton's club captain back in 2019 by Marco Silva, leading the Blues out over 140 times before his exit this summer.

We're not saying Johnston could hit those heights that Coleman did but a top-class defensive player is always going to be someone who can communicate well, order around his teammates and do his duties well.

Everything points towards Johnston doing this at Everton.