news-engine

Alistair Johnston is worth a mega transfer fee and Celtic can't afford to make the same Euro blunder - Chris Sutton The Celtic legend insists the Hoops are a completely different team with Johnston in it. So I hear Everton have backed off Alistair Johnston because they won't meet Celtic's asking price. Good. If that's the case then Celtic should stand their ground because, for me, Johnston is worth a minimum of £25million. Would Johnston have fancied the move to the Premier League? I don’t know, possibly. But that doesn't mean Celtic have to roll over. Players sign contracts for a reason. Nobody is putting a gun to their head. Well, certainly not in Scotland as far as I know! They are happy to put pen to paper. The club commits. The player agrees. Both sides know where they stand. So why should that suddenly change when another club comes calling? Johnston has three years left on his contract. Celtic are perfectly entitled to say: 'No, that's not enough.' And by the way, I just don't see him being the type of player who will throw his toys out the pram because a move hasn't happened. I don't know Alistair personally, but he doesn't strike me as that kind of character. His priority is playing football. Let's not forget he missed a lot of last season before getting himself back fit and going to the World Cup. He knows how important being on the pitch is. And Celtic know how important he is to them. They are a completely different team with Johnston in it. There is more experience and more control defensively. On that right-hand side, they carry far more of a threat. When he first arrived at Celtic, Josip Juranovic was still there. Juranovic was excellent going forward and probably had that attacking side of his game ahead of Johnston. But Johnston really developed into an attacking full-back under Brendan Rodgers. So, fair play to him. Eventually, of course, he'll want to move on. That's football. But it has to be the right move and it has to suit Celtic too. The alternative is what? A player downs tools? Stops trying? Kicks up a stink? How would that look to the next club who wants to buy him? Potential suitors would be looking at that and thinking twice. The same applies to what happened with Daizen Maeda last season. There was a lot of talk that he was unhappy because his big-money transfer didn't happen. Maybe he was. I don't know. But people have short memories. That wasn't a player who chucked it at the end of the season. That was the same Daizen Maeda who scored that unbelievable overhead kick against Rangers. Martin O'Neill even compared his importance to Henrik Larsson. Sometimes players just have dips in form. It doesn't automatically mean they are sulking. The bigger issue for Celtic is not whether they should keep Johnston. They absolutely should. The bigger question is whether the club has the ambition to keep moving forward. Because the criticism from supporters isn't just about winning domestic trophies. Of course Celtic want to beat Rangers. Of course they want to win the league. But the fans want to see them competing in Europe and I get that. They want to see the club trying to make an impact in the Champions League. Last season was a huge disappointment. Selling Nicolas Kuhn before the Kairat Almaty tie and failing to replace him properly was a major blunder and Celtic paid the price. The club have admitted mistakes were made. Fine. But now they have to learn from them. And that means keeping your best players when you are on the brink of another £40m opportunity. As for Johnston's value, I keep hearing those £14m figures and I just don't understand it. Kieran Tierney went to Arsenal for £25m. Since then we've seen plenty of bang-average players move for £20m, £30m and beyond. Johnston had an excellent World Cup. He has improved as a player. He’s under contract until 2029. So why should Celtic be accepting less? For me, £25m is fair. I also think Celtic seriously need to strengthen elsewhere. Strength in depth is a worry. They need a left-back. They need a goalkeeper. I like Viljami Sinisalo and I don't think he has done much wrong but every club should always be looking to improve. I think they need a couple of wide players too. I think they are short of at least four players. And that includes keeping Johnston and Arne Engels. I know some supporters were frustrated with Engels against Dundee, but I'll tell you what he does give Celtic - athleticism. He covers ground. He gives them legs in midfield. Take that away and Celtic become a different team. If you can replace those qualities, great. But if you can't, letting him go would be a huge gamble. It's exactly the same with Johnston. People can talk about replacements, but Celtic cannot replace him at the same level right now. Anthony Ralston and Colby Donovan are wholehearted players. Nobody can question their effort. But if Celtic want to compete and improve, they have to keep their best players. And that brings us to LASK. I think Celtic could have had an easier draw. Austrian teams are aggressive. They are front-foot. They press. They are full of energy. Look at RB Salzburg over the years. They are relentless. Everything I've seen of LASK suggests Celtic will face a similar type of challenge. This is not a tie they can just turn up and win. It is 50-50 for me. And that is exactly why Celtic cannot afford to weaken themselves now. Keep Johnston. Get the reinforcements in. Then let's see what this Celtic team can really do in Europe.