O’SHEA: FLYING MIKEY CAN GO ALL THE WAY
BY PAUL O’HEHIR MIKEY JOHNSTON has been told the sky’s the limit for him as an Ireland international.
And interim boss John O’shea believes the Celtic ace - thriving on loan at West Brom - can force his way into the Premier League. The Glasgow-born attacker made an electrifying breakthrough for the Boys in Green last year under former boss Stephen Kenny.
And he is set to build on that platform by featuring for O’shea (right) against Belgium next Saturday and Switzerland three days later.
Johnston’s scintillating pace and trickery has gone down well with Ireland fans since bursting onto the scene in the friendly win over Latvia this time last year. Johnston, 24, has battled a litany of injury problems over his career and while it wasn’t always a clear run with Ireland, he still won eight caps and scored two goals in 2023. He joined Celtic as a youth in 2008 and made over 60 appearances, and then enjoyed a successful loan with Portuguese side Vitória Guimarães that put him on Kenny’s radar. But Johnston is now ripping it up on loan with West Brom, having sealed a deadline day switch in January until the end of the season. He has scored six goals in his last seven appearances for the Championship’s fifth-placed team, including wonder goals against Plymouth and Coventry City.
“Mikey has definitely not reached his ceiling,” said O’shea, who knows all about the winger turned forward having been part of Kenny’s coaching team.
“He’s still going to get stronger and develop in terms of the discipline side of his game. He’s been so creative and has that licence.
“But the higher level you go, the tactical discipline is going to be key for him as he develops. If he can keep developing that, he can definitely go up to higher levels in terms of Premier League and international football.
“It’s great to see him in that confident form and there’s nothing better than a one v one player because it’s crucial.”