Celtic brought manager Brendan Rodgers back to Glasgow last summer after Australian head coach Ange Postecoglou decided to make a move down south.

The now-Spurs boss enjoyed a terrific two years in Scotland and was particularly successful in the transfer market with several fantastic additions, including the likes of Jota, Kyogo Furuhashi, Joe Hart, and Cameron Carter-Vickers.

One of his last signings in charge of the Hoops, during the January transfer window at the start of last year, was right-back Alistair Johnston from MLS side CF Montreal.

Postecoglou struck gold by bringing the Canadian to Parkhead, as his value has since soared alongside his excellent front-footed displays for the club.

How much Celtic paid to sign Alistair Johnston

The Daily Record reported that Celtic splashed out a fee of £3m to sign the talented defender after his impressive performances in North America throughout 2022.

Johnston made 35 appearances in the MLS in the 2022 campaign and caught the eye with four goals and four assists from right-back, which shows that he provided an attacking threat from that position.

The Canada international also won 50% of his defensive duels during that period, as he stood up to the physical test of the division, and the Hoops then swooped to secure his signature midway through their season.

Appearances

14

Sofascore rating

7.20

Big chances created

5

Assists

1

Duel success rate

52%

He hit the ground running in the Scottish Premiership, as you can see in the table above, with an impressive return of five 'big chances' created in just 14 matches to help the team win the title.

Alistair Johnston's current market value

At the time of writing (26/03/2024), Johnston is valued at €8m (£6.8m) by Transfermarkt and this shows that Postecoglou and Celtic hit the jackpot with him, as his value has soared and his performances on the pitch have been, largely, superb.

The 25-year-old whiz has created eight 'big chances' and registered two assists in 25 Premiership matches for the Hoops so far this season, which means that he has racked up 15 'big chances' created in just 39 league games for the club.

Former Hoops man Steve Guppy, who worked with Johnston at Nashville in the MLS, heaped praise on the full-back's outstanding ability to cross the ball.

He claimed that the right-back's style and technique when it came to passing and crossing the ball was "reminiscent of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s at Liverpool", and went on to say that he was "excited" to see the defender play for Celtic due to that quality.

Johnston has recorded two assists in his last four Premiership matches for the Hoops and both of those were crosses to Adam Idah, who converted one with his left foot and one with his head.

That is incredibly high praise when you consider that the England international recently broke the Premier League record for assists by defenders, with the 58th of his career so far – by the age of just 25.

At 25, the Celtic star still has plenty of time left ahead of him to develop and improve over the years to come. For now, though, it is hard to deny that he has been a terrific signing by Postecoglou, with his soaring value and Trent-like crosses in the Premiership.