Why Everton deal for World Cup-leading Alistair Johnston makes perfect sense as Celtic stance emerges
Alistair Johnston will have gone a long way to easing any Everton concerns at this summer's World Cup.
Right-back is a position that Everton simply have to strengthen in this summer, and numerous names have already been linked.
One of the latest to be touted with the Toffees is Johnston, who has been with Scottish giants Celtic since January 2023.
The 27-year-old has played 122 times for Celtic, and has also played in both Major League Soccer (MLS) and Canadian football respectively, having moved to Glasgow from Montreal.
With all due respect, the Premier League is a big step up in quality from the Scottish Premiership, and thus, there will be some Evertonians understandably sceptical over a potential move for him.
However, his numbers in Scotland have been superb, and Johnston's stock has only grown stronger off the back of his World Cup exploits too.
Why Alistair Johnston was one of the best right-backs at the World Cup
Goodison News has been following reports of Everton's interest in Johnston as Celtic brace themselves for offers.
It likely wouldn't take a huge fee to sign the Canadian either for Everton, and it would present David Moyes the opportunity to solve his right-back problem for on a relatively cheap deal.
Naturally, Johnston's zero Premier League experience would be a concern, but as detailed via FotMob, he's just proven himself to be a quality player on the world's biggest stage.
He played every single minute of Canada's five games at the World Cup this summer, as Jesse Marsch's side went all the way to the round of 16 before being beaten by Morocco.
No right-back at the tournament bettered Johnston's 1.87 expected assists or his 21 touches in the opposition box.
Meanwhile, his nine chances created, three big chances created and five successful crosses ranked him in the top 3.5, 4.2 and 9.2 percentiles amongst his positional rivals at the tournament.
He also finished as one of the top-performing right-backs for his 154 successful passes, five shots, 11 accurate long balls, six interceptions, 16 recoveries and 15 clearances.
So, fresh off the back of a fantastic World Cup, how strong of a position are Celtic in to resist any Everton transfer offer for Johnston this summer?
What is Johnston's contract situation at Celtic?
With Everton always looking to do savvy business deals wherever they can, Johnston certainly appears to be a good opportunity for a relative bargain.
However, he did sign a contract extension with Celtic in November 2024 that runs through until the summer of 2029.
As a result, Celtic are in a strong position to hold out for as much money as possible for Johnston if they're looking to sell.
Johnston's market value may have dipped slightly after 2025-26 though, as he suffered numerous serious hamstring injuries that ensured he'd make just 11 total appearances last term, scoring once and providing two assists.
But his four goals and 12 assists from 2024-25 as well as his seven assists in 2023-24 respectively show just how impactful he can be when he's fit and firing.
Overall then, whilst Johnston would be a gamble, for a deal that would likely only set Everton back a seven-figure fee, it would have the potential to be one of the bargain buys of the Premier League summer transfer window.