Everton are preparing to make a formal offer for Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston — and after over a year of searching for a natural in that position, the pressure is on the club to finally get this one right.
The Daily Record reports that Celtic are braced for a significant bid after Johnston's stock rose sharply during Canada's home World Cup. No official offer has landed yet, but Hill Dickinson Stadium chiefs are moving. Johnston knows. Celtic know. The question now is the fee.
Why Johnston, and why now
The 27-year-old arrived at Celtic for £3 million from Montreal in January 2023 and has made 122 appearances for the club, chipping in with seven goals. A serious hamstring injury wiped out most of last season, but he returned to help Martin O'Neill's side complete a domestic double — and then carried that form into a World Cup on home soil for Canada, earning 63 caps in total.
His contract runs until 2029. Celtic want to keep him. That combination typically pushes a price tag north, and given how badly Everton need cover at right-back, their negotiating position isn't strong.
The need is real. Seamus Coleman has departed after 17 years. Nathan Patterson remains surplus to requirements despite representing Scotland at the World Cup. David Moyes admitted in the winter window that the club had been actively looking for a right-back for a full year. Jake O'Brien and James Garner have been shunted out of position to fill the gap. This isn't a luxury signing — it's structural.
What the data actually says
Comparisonator's analysis is worth sitting with. Johnston profiles as a 'playmaker back' and wing-back, rated 6.8 out of 10 in both categories — technically a distributor rather than a pure runner. His closest Premier League comparisons are Pedro Porro of Spurs and Jayden Bogle of Leeds, both at 91% similarity. The AI transfer tool places him as a better fit at Everton than O'Brien when adjusting for league weight and positional difficulty.
The defensive numbers are genuinely strong. His 76% successful defensive action rate would top the Premier League, above Curtis Jones' 72%. His 1.14 interceptions in the opposition half is second only to Brighton's Mats Wieffer. His 2.57 clearances per 90 would rank third in England. For a team that spent chunks of last season looking porous down that flank, those figures matter.
Offensively, playing in a Celtic side that dominates Scottish football gives his scoring involvement stats an obvious asterisk. His average of being involved in at least one scoring attack per 90 minutes tops Matheus Nunes' Premier League-leading 0.82 — but that's Celtic vs Premiership opposition, not Everton vs Arsenal. The step up is real, as Patterson's stop-start career in the Premier League demonstrates.
- Total distance covered per 90: 8.628km — would rank 26th in the Premier League
- Speed across the turf: 108m/min — would rank fifth in the Premier League
- Passes per 90: 53.43 — would rank fourth in the Premier League
- Successful crosses per 90: 0.86 — would rank 12th in the Premier League
The injury history is the other variable that will concern Everton's medical team. A serious hamstring issue that cost him most of a season is the kind of thing clubs look hard at before committing serious money to a player with a 2029 contract.
Johnston is 27, at or near his ceiling, with a proven international pedigree and a profile that fits what Everton say they want. The price Celtic demand will tell you everything about whether this actually gets done.
