Pundit and former player Darren Jackson has recently made a claim about Celtic winger Mikey Johnston and his potential to play for Scotland in the future.
Jackson was a guest on the latest episode of PLZ Soccer’s The Football Show and the panel discussed many issues surrounding Scottish football. They also talked about the Scotland squad that has been selected for their upcoming UEFA Nations League games against Israel and the Czech Republic. When discussing this, Jackson talked about Johnston and his potential candidature for the Scottish national team in the future.
While Johnston hasn’t been selected for the upcoming games, other Celtic players like Callum McGregor, Greg Taylor, Ryan Christie and James Forrest have been called up.
Jackson believes that provided that Johnston is fit, he would be in the Celtic first-team and that would put him in ‘contention’ for the Scotland squad. He also had praise for the young winger.
He said (21:37): “Another player [that] we’ve missed is Mikey Johnston at Celtic, who along with Billy [Gilmour], is a huge prospect.
Can Mikey Johnston play for Scotland in the future?
Absolutely!
I don't think so
“If Mikey is fit, I think he’d be in the Celtic team which obviously puts him in contention for the Scotland team. Mikey [will] become a big player for Celtic and Scotland, along with Billy.”
TIF Thoughts…
Celtic boss Neil Lennon confirmed some days ago that Johnston has undergone surgery and he could be out of action for the next ‘three to five weeks’. The 21-year-old winger had suffered two injuries last season as well and this led to him missing 20 first-team games.
This shows that his fitness has been a problem – even though he has directly contributed to 19 goals in 48 first-team games for the Hoops.
Johnston is yet to feature even once for the Scotland senior national team and while Jackson rates him highly, the key for the 21-year-old should be to stay fit and play well for Celtic. Once he does that, only then can the Scotland national team come calling.