Kris Boyd gets it all wrong about Julian Araujo’s Celtic status when Alistair Johnston returnsI

Kris Boyd gets it all wrong about Julian Araujo’s Celtic status when Alistair Johnston returns

Kris Boyd was praising Celtic duo Julian Araujo and Alistair Johnston after Celtic’s win at Aberdeen, but the Sky Sports pundit still managed to get it wrong about the Hoops defenders.

Celtic fans are loving Araujo. The energy, passion and aggression he has brought to the club has made him an instant cult hero with the supporters.

And while Johnston will always be a favourite, Kris Boyd’s declaration that the Canadian ‘starts all day long’ when he returns to Celtic first team duty from injury is not as straightforward as the former Rangers man thinks.

Kris Boyd’s verdict on Celtic duo Alistair Johnston and Julian Araujo

After Celtic’s win at Aberdeen, Boyd was very complimentary about Araujo and Johnston, but to say the Canadian will automatically regain his starting spot when he returns from injury is very premature.

Boyd told Sky Sports, “You saw the scenes when Celtic found that late winner at Rugby Park as well. And there is no doubt he’s someone who the Celtic fans have taken to.

“He seems to be, one of that type that is going to annoy the opposition as such. And I think the home fans love that.

“When I look at Celtic this season, he’s brought something different to the performances. I think Celtic, they’ve not really got that edge they’ve had over the previous season.

“He’s brought that in the last couple of weeks. And it doesn’t need to be via football. The fans have bought into him, he’s getting them off their seats.

“You look at the weekend, he was annoying a few of the Rangers players, and it may have overspilt at the end, but from a Celtic point of view, that doesn’t bother him, because he’s putting the opposition off.

“So, I think that he has had a decent impact since he’s come in. But if you’re asking the same question you’ve asked Chris [Sutton], Alistair Johnston plays all day long.

“Because I think he is a proper athlete. If he hadn’t been injured, Reo Hatate would have been one of the ones we thought was going to go for big money, but I also felt that Alistair Johnston was destined to move on from Celtic for a lot of money.

“I think he’s an outstanding full back. He’s an unbelievable athlete, and Celtic will be desperate to get him back.”

Looking at both players, it’s undeniable that Celtic fans love them. Johnston and Araujo both bring aggression and heart to the team, and for this title race that will be crucial.

But Araujo does more than ‘annoy’ opposition players and is proving to be a direct competitor for the right-back spot with Johnston, not just his back-up as these key stats from Fotmob show.

With less first-team minutes, Araujo is outperforming Johnston in five key metrics and is proving to be a very effective attacking option on the overlap too

While Boyd may well be wrong about Johnston ‘starting all day long’, Celtic fans will be delighted that they now have two quality right-backs heading into the final stretch in the title battle with Hearts and Rangers.