Celtic struck gold selling “immense” star

Will Celtic move one step closer to completing the treble?

On Saturday, the Hoops steamrollered Kilmarnock 5-1 at Parkhead, 4-0 up inside 24 minutes; Reo Hatate bagged a brace, Daizen Maeda tapped home from mere picometres out and then Cameron Carter-Vickers launched an absolute rocket in the top corner, before Anthony Ralston completed the rout in injury time.

This leaves Celtic 15 points clear of Rangers with only 15 points left to play for, and with a goal difference that is 42 superior, thereby able to mathematically secure the title at Tannadice against Dundee United next Saturday.

Before then, Brendan Rodgers‘ team will take on St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup semi-finals at Hampden on Easter Sunday, certainly not taking the Saints lightly, having been beaten 1-0 by the Premiership’s bottom club at McDiarmid Park just a fortnight ago.

Nevertheless, on course for a sixth domestic treble in nine seasons, having also reached the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in 12 years, this Celtic side is clearly strong, but would they be even better had they been able to keep hold of an “immense” fan favourite?

Alistair Johnston: Celtic’s unsung hero

Earlier this week, Celtic launched their player of the year voting, with Alistair Johnston front and centre.

Given that Maeda has scored 31 goals, and counting, across all competitions, the Canadian is unlikely to win the award, but he certainly deserves recognition for his performances.

Johnston is likely to surpass 4,000 club minutes this season, starting 43 of the Hoops’ 50 fixtures to date, including all ten in the Champions League, underlining his importance and consistency too.

Graham Falk of the Scotsman believes he has been one of Celtic’s ‘best performers’ since arriving from Club de Foot Montréal in January 2023, with Jesse Marsch, the Canadian national team manager, claiming the Scottish Premiership is “too much of a breeze” for his star full-back.

Back in November, Johnston was rewarded with a new contract, keeping him in Glasgow until 2029, after which Rodgers praised his “phenomenal work ethic and attitude”.

Ange Postecoglou’s decision to sign the defender – and sell a potential competitor – has certainly proven the correct call for the Hoops…

Celtic’s right-back before Alistair Johnston

The reason Johnston arrived straight after the World Cup in Qatar was to replace the outgoing Josip Juranović.

The Croatian joined the Celts from Legia Warsaw for a reported fee of £2.5m when Ange Postecoglou first arrived in the summer of 2021, made just 53 appearances in hoops and was then sold to Union Berlin for up to £10m a mere 18 months later.

During his relatively brief time at Parkhead, Juranović quickly became a fan’s favourite, later describing his time at Celtic as “the best of his life”.

Postecoglou praised the defender for performing “really well… against world-class opponents”, and was disappointed when he ultimately chose to leave, with editor Zach Lowy claiming his World Cup performances were “immense on both sides of the ball”.

Since Juranović moved to Union Berlin just over two years ago, it’s been an up-and-down period for die Eisernen.

The club based in East Berlin were promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time ever in 2019, making it an astonishing achievement that they qualified for the Champions League just four years later, shortly after Juranović’s arrival, having been in the Europa League the year before, and the Conference League the season before that.

However, the following campaign, they only avoided relegation on the final day, thanks to Janik Haberer’s 92nd minute winner against Freiburg at Stadion An der Alten Försterei, and with the Union Berlin 13th right now, it’s been tougher for Juranović.

So, let’s assess how he compares to his Celtic replacement Johnston.

As outlined in the table, Johnston has outperformed Juranović across the last two seasons, albeit the Croatian’s time in Berlin has been blighted by long-term injuries.

Transfermarkt believe Juranović’s current market value is just £3m, having been as high as £10m when he joined Union, underlining that Celtic were right to cash in and strike while the iron is hot.

Indeed, Johnston, by contrast, is now valued at around £9m, ensuring he is three times as valuable as the man he replaced and has now perhaps comfortably surpassed in a Celtic shirt.

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