A recent report has claimed that St Johnstone are targeting Celtic defender Anthony Ralston (The Herald).
Richard Foster’s Perthshire exit has opened up a vacancy in the right-back department at McDiarmid Park. It looks as if Tommy Wright wants Ralston to fill that gap.
It may only be a loan move, but this is a good switch for everyone concerned.
Ralston needs this St Johnstone switch
With Moritz Bauer, Hatem Abd Elhamed and even centre-back Kristoffer Ajer to pick from at right-back, Ralston isn’t going to get much of a look in at Parkhead this term.
He is a decent full-back, but questions have lingered over whether he is good enough for Celtic. Ralston is competent enough to play for a side like St Johnstone though.
Ralston is pretty unspectacular, but he does his job effectively. His ability to move the ball and get good crosses into the box is questionable, but his positional awareness and tackling are pretty decent.
Celtic will be happy with a loan deal for him. Whilst he won’t play much this season, at 20 years of age, Ralston still represents good potential. They won’t want to lose him permanently just yet.
St Johnstone get an able replacement for the recently departed Foster. The player himself gets valuable minutes and a chance to play first-team football every week.
There are some real positives for everyone from this deal. With the transfer deadline fast approaching though, Wright will need to move quick to secure his man.
On the face of it though, this looks like a promising deal for St Johnstone.