Canada assistant coach Steven Caldwell has outlined who he thinks can perfectly succeed Callum McGregor as Celtic captain one day.

At 30, the current skipper still has a lot of life left in him but Caldwell thinks his successor as skipper is already in the building.

Indeed, he believes that when McGregor hangs up his boots, right-back Alistair Johnston will take on the captaincy, if he is still in Glasgow.

At both club and international level, the 25-year-old is a highly respected figure. For Canada, he has 40 caps and within six months of joining Celtic, Johnston won a treble.

He is a key member of the Hoops’ squad and although he has had poor spells throughout the current season, on the whole, he has been passable.

Caldwell believes he has the right credentials to one day captain Celtic. He said: [The Scottish Sun via Football Scotland] “Can I see him being a captain? I certainly can.

“Alistair is a smart lad who knows the game and what he wants. By the time he’s getting towards his 30s I can definitely see him taking on a leadership role for Celtic or Canada.

“He’s open to discussing things and isn’t closed in terms of where he’s at, and he doesn’t have any ego.

“He has no arrogance, that’s one of his biggest strengths, and the reason why he’ll continue to get better and better.”

Johnston has been a Celtic player for little over 12 months, but the defender has moulded into a prominent member of the team.

Suggestions that he could be captain are not inaccurate however in the current leadership pecking order, there are several players ahead of him.

Alongside McGregor, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Joe Hart regularly wear the armband. When the veteran ‘keeper retires at the end of the season, though, perhaps the Canadian may assume more of a leading role in the team.