Celtic could terminate Sam Johnstone deal ahead of January - expert

Celtic should send loan goalkeeper Sam Johnstone back to Wolves in January if they have decided that he will not be the club's number one.

That is according to former Aberdeen and Aston Villa chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who had the 33-year-old as part of the squad at Villa Park while he was there.

Johnstone joined the Bhoys in the summer with the view of becoming their number one, but has started just three of their 10 games since his arrival.

Wyness believes that Martin O'Neill must come out and publicly back one of his goalkeepers as his number one, in order to try and boost confidence.

The veteran boss has opted to start Viljami Sinisalo between the posts in recent weeks, but then reverted back to Johnstone for the Europa League defeat to Celta Vigo on Thursday night.

Celtic have kept just one clean sheet in their last seven games in all competitions, and the form of both goalkeepers has been under huge scrutiny of late.

Celtic have made 'half decision' with goalkeepers

Aberdeen's former chief Wyness - who served as CEO at Pittodrie between 2000 and 2004 and now runs a consultancy business advising elite clubs - believes that Celtic made a "half decision" with their goalkeeping situation in the summer.

The recruitment team were keen to replace Sinisalo as the starter for several months, but ultimately settled for a loan addition rather than a permanent signing.

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, Wyness explained how the current situation could ultimately end up with Johnstone back at Wolves in January.

"Well, I know Sam Johnstone. I had him when I was at Aston Villa, and he was a very bright young goalkeeper and did very well for us at Villa. There's no doubt he's got talent," he said.

"What Martin again has got to do is decide who is number one, come out and say it. And goalkeepers need that confidence. And if Sam isn't going to be the number one, then he's got to go back to Wolves.

"They've got to resolve it and let him move on elsewhere because it's not working out. You can't mess it around and have it halfway because there's been too many half decisions at Celtic recently.

"The goalkeeper situation is a half decision. It's indicative of what's going on at the top level at Celtic again. This one's up to the manager to decide who is going to be number one and make it very clear to everybody."

Celtic set sights on Balazs Toth deal

Football Insider revealed earlier this week that Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Balazs Toth remains on the radar for Celtic ahead of the January transfer window.

The Hungarian is out of contract at Ewood Park next summer, and has continued to reject Rovers' attempts to hand him a new deal.

Sources say that Toth will be available for less than £4million this winter, with Blackburn keen to cash in rather than lose him on a free.

Celtic remain big admirers of Toth, and could potentially make a move to shore up their goalkeeping situation.