Celtic FC and Montreal CF have reached a verbal agreement to send Canadian right-back Alistair Johnston to the Scottish club, according to reports from Sky Sports' Fabrizio Romano.
The conversations between the two teams were first reported by Transfermarkt’s Manuel Veth, though the final terms for the signing and subsequent contract offer have yet to be reported.
Johnston is in Qatar starting for Canada and had a strong performance in their first game of the tournament against Belgium, setting up critical chances on goal with accurate long balls.
After the Canadian national team practice on Friday, when asked about his impending move to Celtic FC Johnston stated that "it's an honour" to be linked to Celtic but right now he's focused on the World Cup, according to Sportsnet's Peter Galindo.
In 34 appearances with CF Montreal this past MLS season, Johnston scored four goals and added four assists. He has 31 caps for the national team and has scored one goal while setting up three more in his time in red and white.
He joins a Celtic team currently at the top of the Scottish Premier League table. The Scottish giants were knocked out of the Champions League after finishing last in Group F.
Current Celtic right-back Josip Juranovic has been linked with possible moves away from the club, with the team expecting offers to come their way after the World Cup. Johnston would slot in as a solid replacement for the Croatian national.
It has also been reported that CF Montreal president Gabriel Gervais is in Doha, Qatar, though he has insisted that he is not there to conduct transfer negotiations. Rather he is there to watch the six current and former Montreal players perform for the national team.
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