Alistair Johnston has warned Celtic they will be coming up against a “truly world-class player” when they face his Canada team-mate and Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies in the Champions League.
The Hoops right-back is set to face his international captain in the Parkhead side’s play-off against Bayern, although left-back Davies might miss Wednesday night’s home leg through injury.
And Johnston is under no illusion what lies in store for the hosts.
“It’s one of those ones where you look at their squad and it’s players of Fonzie’s quality,” he said.
“I’ve obviously trained against him and played with him with our national team plenty of times. And it’s a different level.
“He’s a truly world-class player. I think he was in the world’s best XI when he was 19 years old and a Champions League winner, multi time Bundesliga winner.
“And you just see his level in training and you realise that it’s 18 more guys like that.
“When we played against (Borussia) Dortmund, you’re in the tunnel and the size of these guys, the presence they have there, they really are some of the best athletes in the world.
“And you go up against that, you can really see the level. And Fonzie is like that. Just in terms of his physicality, his physical traits are unbelievable.
“And then you match in how quick his feet are and how he sees the game, his football IQ, everything.
“I’ve always been really impressed by training with him and just seeing the game through his eyes.
“I mean teams will double team him and he’s the left-back for our national team. It’s unheard of, but when we play games in CONCACAF (the North American, Central American and Caribbean confederation), they’ll do that and often they’ll send their best winger on to my side.
“I get that, it’s a mismatch against Fonzie, so they try and pick on me instead.
“It’s something that comes with the territory, but he’s a super-talented player.
“And again, that’s what Bayern Munich is all about. They are going to have a lot of those players.
“There’d definitely be some bragging rights going into the March (international) window if we could pull this one off.
“We have just got to get through this first 90 minutes. Obviously use Celtic Park to our advantage and hopefully we can make it a really memorable night.”
Johnston admits Celtic will miss Daizen Maeda, who is suspended for the first leg.
The Japan attacker has scored six goals in his last three games and 22 in total for club and country so far this season.
Johnston said: “I mean crying out loud, he’s got to be one of the most in-form players in all of Europe right now.
“He can’t seem to miss right now. When he’s scoring and creating he adds just another dimension. But also everyone knows his work rate is unbelievable.
“He’s a nightmare as a full-back to go up against and I get the joy of having him running after me all throughout the week most of the time.
“So it’s a bummer for us, but the same time that’s why we brought in guys like Jota, it’s to have that quality between all of our wingers, (ensure) there is enough quality and depth that when something like that does happen, a suspension, other guys can step up.
“So, between Jota, Yang Hyun-jun and Nicolas Kuhn, we’re still really happy with where we’re at in terms of our depth and talent.
“It’s a great opportunity for one of those guys to step up and I’m expecting that someone will.”
