By Frank McAvennie

29th Sep, 2023 | 1:59pm

Alistair Johnston set to quit Celtic as deal agreed - expert

Alistair Johnston is “destined” to leave Celtic next year.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former Hoops striker Frank McAvennie claimed Anthony Ralston was offered a new contract at Parkhead because the club knows Johnston won’t be there for much longer.

On 26 September, the Celts confirmed that Ralston has put pen to paper on a new four-year deal keeping him at Parkhead until 2027.

The 24-year-old has been part of the Celtic set up for almost 15 years and signed a new deal with the first team back in 2018.

Ralston has struggled for game time in recent seasons with former right-back Josip Juranovic and now Johnston keeping him out of the side.

Johnston joined the club last January as interest began to swirl around Josip Juranovic’s future before he joined Union Berlin in that same month.

McAvennie insisted Johnston is likely to move on from the Scottish giants soon.

“Ralston knows Johnston is the number one,” he told Football Insider.

“But I think he is destined to leave in a year or so and that is why they have tied Ralston down,

“Things are looking up because people are coming back from injury now. I really want to see a full team out and be really impressed by the performance.”

Johnston has made 25 appearances for the Hoops since joining almost a year ago following an impressive World Cup campaign with Canada.

The defender has scored once and offered up two assists in those outings.

In other news, Kieran Maguire shares verdict on Celtic fan anger after £70m reveal.