Chris Sutton has warned Celtic they cannot afford to lose Alistair Johnston, after manager Martin O'Neill revealed that David Moyes had told him Everton were preparing a bid for the Canada World Cup star.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Celtic's opening Scottish Premiership fixture at home to Dundee on Monday, the 74-year-old said: “In fairness, David Moyes did call me last week and say that there would be contact. But I don’t know how far that has progressed, if it has at all.”
Everton's long-running right-back search
Right-back remains Everton's long-running problem position. Kenny Tete could have filled the void last summer, but after a U-turn he signed a new deal at Fulham instead.
David Moyes admitted the club had been actively searching for a new right-back for a year ahead of the winter window closing. Nathan Patterson came close to leaving before the winter window closed and, despite featuring for Scotland at the World Cup, remains surplus to requirements, with Ben Godfrey and more recently Jake O'Brien selected out of position ahead of him.
With long-serving captain Seamus Coleman departing after 17-and-a-half years, Everton's need for a new recruit has grown even greater.
Sutton's warning over Johnston
Sutton, 53, who made 199 appearances for Celtic between 2000 and 2006, scoring 86 goals, told the Daily Record: “Alistair Johnston was huge for Celtic in the run-in last season. Everton have made a move, but Celtic simply can’t afford to lose him right now.”
He also stuck by his earlier view that Celtic should have held off selling Daizen Maeda until after the Champions League play-off, and said the same applied to Johnston. He described Johnston as a massive player on the pitch and a leader in the dressing room, adding that Celtic should not be answering the phone until after the first leg, because they could not replace him for the biggest game of the season.
Sutton pointed to Julian Araujo's arrival from Bournemouth last season as an example of a player who was on EPL money and had played at a high level but was still short of the standards Johnston set.
