Mikey Johnston has been tearing up the English Championship ever since his move from Celtic to West Bromwich Albion this season.
With seven goals in 15 games since his January transfer, Johnston—who was named the Championship Player of the Month—has emerged as one of the most talked-about players in the South this season. He is currently a Celtic winger on loan.
In fact, the Republic of Ireland international winger is having such a good time in the Midlands that there have been rumors of a £10 million transfer.
‘Fantastic’ Mikey Johnston didn’t want to leave Celtic
But if Hearts had had its wish, things might have turned out very differently for Johnston. According to Lee McCulloch, they attempted to sign the winger during his tenure as Tynecastle’s assistant manager.
“We tried to get Mikey Johnston at Hearts and Mikey Johnston didn’t want to leave Celtic,” McCulloch told [PLZ Soccer].
If he were to leave Celtic, he had no desire to join another Scottish team.
“”Amazing player.”
Johnston has now enjoyed two successful stints on loan at Celtic. He made 31 games and scored three goals for Vitoria Guimaraes, helping the Portuguese team qualify for Europe and gain fame abroad alongside the Republic of Ireland.
Johnston, who is back at Celtic, played in 12 games under Brendan Rodgers this season, scoring two and assisting on two.
But injury ended his Celtic comeback, and he was eventually sent to West Brom, where he’s been playing well.
Mikey Johnston’s Celtic future
The Celtics supporters have been talking about this for years now. Since making his debut with the Hoops in 2017, Johnston has been unable to establish himself as a regular starter.
Since then, Johnston has made just 92 appearances, scoring 13 goals and dishing out 12 assists. Injury has essentially ended the winger’s two full seasons at Celtic in 2019 and 2020. [Transfermarkt]
Liel Abada, Jota, and Daizen Maeda joined Celtic with the arrival of Angel Postecoglou, causing Johnston to fall even farther down the hierarchy.
A brief comeback under Rodgers was once more cut short by injury, and his dismal play persuaded the Celtic manager to send him out on loan.
Does he intend to stay at Celtic for the long run? It would require you to refuse. Rodgers appears to believe he can rejoin Celtic after this loan period and have an immediate impact.
But the Celtics supporters are still not persuaded.
