Cost £3.5m, now worth 114% more: Celtic struck gold with outstanding star

Wednesday was a disappointing night for Celtic, but this remains a season of progress for Brendan Rodgers‘ side.

The Hoops have reached the Champions League knockout phase for the first time since 2012/13, accumulating 12 points from eight league phase fixtures, most notably holding Atalanta to a goalless draw in Bergamo and beating RB Leipzig at home.

So, their reward was a clash with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich, with the Rekordmeister visiting a typically rocking Parkhead on Wednesday, but this would prove to be a bridge too far for the Celts.

Bayern departed Glasgow 2-1 winners, Daizen Maeda‘s second-half header sparking a late onslaught, but no equaliser was forthcoming, leaving the Bhoys with a mountain to climb in Bavaria on Tuesday.

Despite defeat, it was a performance all Celtic supporters can be proud of, with one defensive regular in particular standing out once again.

Celtic’s previous right-back stars

For seven and a half seasons, Mikael Lustig was Celtic’s undisputed first-choice right-back.

The Swede arrived from Rosenborg on a free transfer in January 2012, making 276 appearances in hoops, winning eight consecutive Premiership titles, as well as four Scottish Cups and four League Cups.

By the time he departed for Gent in 2019, he did so as an unequivocal fans’ favourite, with Rodgers describing him as “very important”.

His successor at right-back would be Jeremie Frimpong who, at the age of 19, arrived from Man City with no first-team experience for a reported fee of £350,000.

Well, this would prove to be an excellent piece of business because, just 18 months and 51 appearances later, he was sold to Bayer Leverkusen for £11.5m.

The next right-back incumbent would be one of Ange Postecoglou’s many bargain signings.

Similar to Frimpong, Josip Juranović spent only 18 months at Celtic, also making just over 50 appearances, arriving from Legia Warszawa for £2.5m in June 2021, before joining Union Berlin for £7.5m, plus £2.5m in potential add-ons, shortly after the World Cup in Qatar.

juranovic-celtic-transfer-value-premiership-market-postecoglou

To summarise, this trio all underline the fact that Celtic have always had a top-class right-sided full-back, and the current occupant of that position certainly belongs in the same class, possibly outperforming them all.

Celtic’s unsung hero in defence

To preemptively replace the outgoing Juranović, the Hoops signed Alistair Johnston from MLS side Club de Foot Montréal for £3.5m in January 2023 and this has proved to be a great value deal, with the Canada international now worth around three times that amount, £7.5m to be precise according to Transfermarkt.

When Johnstone signed a new contract in November, Rodgers described this as “fantastic news”, adding the full-back had immediately “established himself as a fantastic player”.

Wednesday night against Bayern saw Johnston make his 97th appearance for the club, sitting out just 19 matches since his debut, which is pretty remarkable considering he required ankle surgery in the summer of 2023.

This season, the full-back has scored four goals and provided eight assists, meaning only 13 current Scottish Premiership players, across all competitions, have accumulated more goal involvements this season, which isn’t bad for a defender.

So, let’s see how Johnston compares to both Frimpong and Juranović.

Johnston vs Frimpong & Josip Juranović Celtic career
Statistics	Johnston	Frimpong	Juranović
Appearances	97	51	53
Minutes	8,162	3,865	4,379
Goals	6	3	6
Assists	7	8	3
Chances created	106	64	54
Pass completion %	84.56%	80.49%	85.21%
Take-on success %	62.63%	72.78%	58.92%
Tackles	161	42	70
Interceptions	56	35	37
Ball recoveries	346	226	290
Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and Squawka

As the table shows, Johnston is certainly comparable to his two predecessors, outperforming them both for defensive metrics, namely tackles, interceptions and ball recoveries, with the caveat that, should he complete 90 minutes against Dundee United on Saturday, he’ll have played more minutes for the club than Juranović and Frimpong combined.

Nevertheless, the Canadian has certainly proved to be a great value-for-money acquisition, and an excellent piece of scouting, discovering a player who was the 11th pick in the MLS SuperDraft just five years ago.

As noted by Tom Nightingale of Canada Soccer Daily, Johnston won ten duels against Bayern this week, more than any other player on the pitch, previously describing him as “outstanding”, emphasising that the full-back continues to impress.