Everything Celtic fans should know about 21-yr-old potential Alistair Johnston replacement
Celtic are reportedly targeting KV Mechelen right-back Therence Koudou as a possible replacement for Premier League-linked Alistair Johnston.
The Hoops are being forced to draw up contingency plans for right-back as Johnston is touted to join Everton this month.
He has been Celtic's first choice in his position for several seasons, but did struggle with injuries last term as Colby Donovan, Anthony Ralston and Julian Araujo each deputised.
Johnston is keen on a move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Celtic waiting until Everton meet their valuation of his services to let him leave.
New reports from Belgium have claimed that Mechelen's Koudou, 21, is on their radar as a possible successor for the Canadian this summer.
He shone in the Belgian Pro League last season and looks to be the exact kind of profile that Celtic should be targeting in case Johnston departs.
What do Celtic fans need to know about Therence Koudou?
Koudou grew up just outside of Paris and came through the ranks of Reims before breaking into professional football with their reserves in 2021.
He made his professional debut for the club in a Ligue 1 clash against Marseille in May 2023 and was loaned out to Ligue 2 side Pau for the following campaign.
The right-back made 14 appearances out on loan before being recalled to feature nine times for Reims in the second half of the campaign.
He then made a permanent move to Pau in August 2024 and spent one term back with the second tier side, registering two goals and five assists in 33 games.
Mechelen spent around £1million to sign him last summer, and he impressed in his first season in Belgium, with five goals and two assists in 37 Pro League matches.
He ranked among the best full-backs in the league for successful crosses and dribbles, fouls won, recoveries and possession won in the final third per 90 minutes.
The 21-year-old stands at five feet ten inches tall, and has a twin brother called Maxence who plays in the lower leagues of the French system.
He is of Ivorian descent, but has featured at several age-group levels for France between under-16 and under-21.
What has Martin O'Neill said about Johnston leaving Celtic?
Sources have exclusively revealed to Football Insider that Celtic will accept an offer worth £14m for Johnston as Everton weigh up a move.
Their season has started in the meantime, with a huge Champions League playoff tie against LASK coming up later this month.
Hoops boss O'Neill was asked about the possibility of keeping Johnston and West Ham-linked teammate Arne Engels for the qualifying games on Monday, saying: "Ideally, that would be brilliant, that would be really good. We wouldn't know if the other clubs would want to pursue that, if that was the case.
"Alistair and Arne both said to me that they would want to play in the game if things had not progressed. And I thought they did fine. Alistair has got a very strong mindset anyway, but you are naturally worried about transfer speculation in the background and how you might take the game into consideration psychologically as well as physically."