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Celtic stand firm over deal amid stumbling block as transfer speculation intensifies in £12m ace Celtic given major boost as EPL club turn attention elsewhere. Celtic have received a boost to their hopes of hanging on to star defender Alistair Johnston this summer, with Everton ready to abandon their plans to sign the Canadian international. Johnston, 27, has been the subject of major transfer interest over the last week after manager Martin O’Neill revealed that he had received a call from Toffees boss David Moyes informing him that the English Premier League had planned to launch an official bid for the right-back, believed to be around £12million with add-ons. Speaking about the rumoured interest in Johnston’s services, the veteran Celtic manager signalled his hopes that Johnston would stay at the club beyond the transfer deadline; however, reports from Merseyside have claimed that the Canada international had informed the Scottish champions of his desire to sign for Everton if an agreement could be reached over a transfer fee. Sign up to The Scotsman’s daily football newsletter to get unrivalled Scottish football news and analysis - subscribe for free here. However, a new report from the Daily Record now claims that Everton have decided to cast their net wider after failing to match Celtic’s asking price of £15million plus for Johnston and are ready to back away from the transfer, strengthening hopes he’ll remain at Parkhead, where he is contracted until the summer of 2029. Earlier in the day, Liverpool Echo journalist Christopher Beesley had revealed that the move had already hit a potential snag due to Celtic’s desire to hang onto Johnston until after their Champions League qualifying clash with LASK. As confirmed by O’Neill, the Scottish champions were “ideally” hoping the former CF Montreal player would be with the club until at least that point as they aim to book their place in the competition against the Austrian outfit. “There’s also a major issue in that Champions League qualifying round sort of makes or breaks their season,” Beesley said via the Royal Blue podcast. “They had an embarrassing defeat last year [vs Kairat Almaty] at that stage of the competition, and they’re very worried about getting rid of any of their prize assets before that one’s taken care of.” Elsewhere, reported Celtic midfielder target Gvidas Gineitis has sparked further transfer speculation after being left out of Torino’s squad for their friendly game against Vado last night. The Lithuanian international is rumoured to be on the Hoops’ list of potential replacements for Arne Engels, should the playmaker complete a move to West Ham United this summer. Gineitis, 22, had featured for the Toro in their 1-0 friendly defeat to Burnley at the weekend, but was posted missing as they took on Serie C outfit, with no reason given for his absence. Understood to be valued at around the £12million mark, the player’s agent recently hinted at a potential departure from the Olympic Grande Stadium. “Torino holds Gvidas in high regard and believes in his future,” said agent Dmitry Vinokurov. “The player has steadily improved within the club and is considered an important part of the project. At the same time, Gvidas is ambitious, as any player competing at this level should be. There have already been expressions of interest from other clubs, which is natural considering his age, performance, and potential.” Comments Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.