Everton Halts Interest in Alistair Johnston as Celtic Holds Firm on Fee

Everton’s move for Alistair Johnston has stalled, with the Premier League club now turning their attention elsewhere after failing to match Celtic’s valuation of the Canadian defender.

Martin O’Neill revealed earlier this summer that David Moyes had personally picked up the phone to register Everton’s interest, with an offer expected to follow. The call underlined how highly Johnston is regarded south of the border and hinted at the start of a serious pursuit.

The chase has hit a wall.

Celtic, according to reports, set the bar at more than £15 million and made it clear they wanted Johnston in place at least until after their Champions League play-off against LASK. For a club eyeing another run in Europe, losing a starting defender on the eve of such a tie was never going to be an easy sell.

Everton, The Daily Record now report, have stepped back from the negotiating table and begun to line up alternatives, with Strasbourg defender Guela Doue emerging as a live option. The message is blunt: if Celtic won’t budge, Everton will.

That stance comes despite an awareness at Goodison Park that Johnston would be open to a Premier League move. The attraction is obvious – a key role in one of the world’s most watched leagues, a new stage for a player whose reputation has risen sharply in Glasgow and with Canada.

O’Neill has already spoken directly with Johnston about the noise around Everton. The manager painted a picture of a player content where he is, but not immune to the pull of a major English club.

“I've spoken to him on the back of the interest,” O’Neill said. “Again, it was one of those where Alistair is perfectly happy here at the football club. But like anything else, your head can get turned very quickly, particularly if it's a really good club.

“He wouldn't leave here for a second-class Premier League club, if there is such a thing, but if a big, big club comes in, it's something you would have to look at. And I think it's only natural as well. If I were a player, I'd be exactly the same.”

The dynamic is clear. Celtic hold the contract and the Champions League carrot. Everton hold the Premier League platform but, for now, not the fee Celtic demand.

So Johnston stays put, at least in the short term, central to Celtic’s European plans while his name continues to circulate in recruitment meetings in England. Whether this is the end of Everton’s interest or just a pause before a renewed push later in the window will say plenty about how far they are willing to go for a defender they clearly rate.