Scotland’s defeat to 3-1 England in the prestigious Toulon Tournament means that England will now face an impressive Mexico side in the final. Despite the disappointment if losing the semi-final, our own Mikey Johnston was the player everyone was talking about after his Messi-esq goal, which you can watch below.
The 19 year old spoke recently about how he looks up to Messi. He said: “I look at what other players I admire were doing at my age all the time. When Messi was 19 he scored his first hat-trick against Real Madrid so I think of these things all the time.”
Johnston was blighted by bad luck last season when injury robbed him of making more first team appearances. He was ear-marked for game time when a thigh strain ruled him out for nine weeks. It was during this period of inactivity that the young man’s ambition and desire was refocused.
“All through my injury I was thinking that I had played five games for the first team and I always wanted to have played a lot more games for the first team at 18. I need to forget about that now. I’ve just turned 19 so this can be the year”.
There is talk of Johnston going out on loan. Rumours are that Celtic has already told Hibs that any deal for John McGinn will not see the highly rated forward move to Easter Road in any capacity.
There is an opportunity for the player to establish himself at Celtic. We lacked creativity last season and the management team did deem him worthy of selection before his injury.
Roberts and Musonda have gone with Ryan Christie and Lewis Morgan joining the squad. It’s unlikely that Lewis Morgan will be allowed to go to Sunderland straight away as the coaching staff will have a look at him over pre-season but his impressive displays for Scotland against Peru and Mexico suggest that he could step up and contribute early next season.
Ryan Christie is highly regarded by the coaching staff. They have been pleased with his development at Aberdeen and a new deal is being discussed. While Morgan impressed for Scotland, Christie in his outing against Mexico done very little. This added to his tail off in form towards the end of last season has increased the doubt in some of the support that the 23 year old will make it in the Hoops.
It’s also going to be a big pre-season for Anthony Ralston. The 19 year old signed a four and a half year deal in December and when he returned from injury was sent to Dundee United on loan. The player has hardly had to time to catch breath.
“From the start of the season, living the dream as a Celtic fan playing for the first team. Then my injury and dealing with that, then going out on loan and enjoying the games I played in.
I always look back on the Champions League night against PSG as a positive night. It’s all about experiences and playing against that calibre of player is only going to give me the confidence to go up against any player.”
It’s fair to say that the young full-back didn’t have his best game against England in the Toulon Tournament. His loan to Dundee United also raised eyebrows but that can be explained as the player needing competitive game time after returning from injury. Facing an elite level team is a step up from the Scottish Championship and Ralston did struggle against the mobility of the English forwards.
The coaches must see something in the player. He got a long term contract on the back of performances for Celtic and that is what he needs to remember today and in the next few weeks.
No player should be written off before the season has begun. Rodgers has previous for turning ugly ducklings into swans and giving players a chance.
All players will be turning up to Lennoxtown for pre-season with a clean slate.
Kevin Graham
Read about Celtic’s long stressful summer HERE.
