Celtic Transfer Latest – The limitless Rise of Alistair Johnston

We always try to do our digging on any potential player heading to Celtic Park. The news Alistair Johnson is set to join the Scottish Champions has got us excited, and we’re not the only ones!

We asked Canadian-based Freelance Analyst & Scout Ryan Lindsay about the Montreal star, and he might be even more excited than us!

You can only find out so much information through data sources and clips online. But here’s a rundown of Alistair’s meteoric rise in the MLS and why he is primed and ready to join a club the size of Celtic.

As we publish Ryan’s comments, the noises from Canada and closer to home claim Johnston is set to become a Celtic player sooner rather than later. [Recordsport]

Here’s why you should be as excited as Ryan and us about Johnston’s impending move to Celtic.

Alistair Johnston has been on what has felt like a limitless rise over the past few years, where he has gone from university and semi-professional football to a crucial part of the Canadian men’s national team in what feels like the blink of an eye. 

Versatility

He’s incredibly positionally flexible and has been able to adapt and thrive in many different systems between Montreal and the Canadian national team.

With both teams, he has excelled as a part of a back 3 – predominantly on the right side but has also featured on the left side with Montreal – and in his more natural position as a right back/right wing-back. He is able to rely on his ability on the ball, excellent engine, and positional awareness to become a stand-out player in North America in this position. He has translated this ability to play at left-back and left-wing-back with Montreal as well.

Montreal usually utilised Johnston in a wing-back role in a 3-4-3 formation last season, allowing him to get forward to contribute offensively. In 2648 minutes of game time last season, Johnston contributed four goals and five assists, along with 23 total “key passes”, which are defined as a pass that results in an attacking action.

Ball Distribution

Johnston is also a very capable distributor of the ball. In the MLS last season, he completed 85.2% of his passes, with 54% of his successful passes coming as “forward zone” passes (MLS Stats). In all competitions for club and country, that pass completion dropped slightly to 81.5% of his overall passes – which breaks down to 92.3% of short passes, 83.7% of his medium passes, and 61.1% of his long passes (FBRef).

This would include matches against MLS opposition, against Santos Laguna and Cruz Azul in the Concacaf Champions League, and opponents like Mexico, the United States, and highly physical sides like Panama and Honduras in World Cup qualifying. Over this spell, Johnston averaged 3.64 crosses/90 and 0.92 Key Passes/90, so he has consistently provided offensive creation against various opposition, from both centre-back and from out wide (FBRef). His deliveries are reliable and well-taken, as shown by his five assists last season.     

These abilities would translate well to Postecoglou’s progressive, attacking, high-tempo system that he has implemented at the club. Johnston has shown an ability to play at a higher tempo in a possession dominant side in his time in Montreal, often dictating tempo through his own play down the right wing.

Internationally, Johnston has the experience to play in a system with more defensive structure and discipline against sides that look to dominate possession, with some of the matches Canada played against quality opponents in Mexico and the United States. That experience, coupled with his experiences of facing players like Hirving Lozano, Christian Pulisic, and most recently, Yannick Carrasco in the World Cup, have given Johnston experiences akin to what he may face in European competition in systems that Celtic may look to employ.

Defending

On the defensive side of the ball, Johnston is a tenacious, tough-tacking player who is fearless when going into a contest with an opponent. His years of playing hockey growing up have certainly removed his fear of contact, which is evident in his game. He is positionally sound, reliable in the tackle and in the air, and has the pace to track down opponents if he is beaten. In 2021, John Herdman compared him to Gary Neville in his approach to his defensive game, but Johnston has more of a modern fullback profile going forward with his ability on the ball, his vision, and his attacking and creative sense. 

Johnston will occasionally over-commit in his positioning or in a tackle, or misread his positioning, but he isn’t prone to making the same mistake twice; he seems to be a player that learns very quickly from his mistakes. During World Cup qualifying, Johnston had issues with Hirving Lozano in Canada’s first game against Mexico, but adapted and improved in the second match against El Tri later in the campaign to be one of the stand-out performers in a 2-1 win.

Self Belief

Johnston is a player with immense self-belief without being cocky. His approach to the game is joyful, but very much with the mentality that he is there to do a job, and he will do that job to the absolute best of his ability and with the maximum commitment regardless of where he is played on the pitch.

Early on in his Canada career, Canada manager John Herdman approached Johnston about playing as a part of a back-3, asking the young defender if he had ever spent time at centre-back. Johnston hadn’t, but told Herdman that he had in an effort to ensure he was on the pitch, and immediately took to the position as if he had even more experience than he pretended to have. He’s gone on to play a large percentage of his 31 caps in this right-sided centre-back role.

Experience

The experience Johnston has gained in a back-3 translates well to the inverted fullback role he will likely play with Celtic, as he finds himself inside the half-space areas in the opposition’s half when engaged in possession.

From here, he is able to play vertical through-balls to break lines or create chances and to push forward to allow a wide player to pin an opposition fullback deeper in their defensive zone.

Johnston is an incredibly intelligent player who occasionally gives very astute and thorough tactical breakdowns in interviews. He is also well-regarded in Canadian soccer for what an engaging and articulate interviewee he is. His football intelligence and leadership abilities are seemingly through the roof, and many see him as a certainty to be a captain at some point in his career, as well as a manager once he is finished playing.