According to The BBC, Arsenal are in talks with Celtic to sign left-back Kieran Tierney.

It’s believed that The Gunners initially offered £15m for the defender with The Telegraph stating that Celtic want £25m.

I can see why the Premier League side want the Scottish internationalist and I can also see why the Premiership champions want a hefty fee for the fullback.

For me, Tierney has the potential to be as good as if not better than fellow left-back and countryman Andrew Robertson, who has just won the Champions League with Liverpool.

Recently turned twenty-two year old Tierney is a stronger defender for me. He’s more accomplished defensively that he can be used as a centre back or on the right flank in an emergency.

Kieran is disciplined and will always give 100% for the team.

When Brendan Rodgers arrived in Glasgow back in 2016, he could see that Tierney was going to be an integral player in his Hoops team. Since then Celtic have won three domestic trebles in a row, with the full back playing a pivotal role in each season.

Former boss Rodgers said this about Kieran (From The Scotsman):

“Scotland have a huge talent”

“Kieran doesn’t waste his time doing stupid things, he’s concentrated on his football. He lives his life to be a player, he’s not drinking, he trains like an animal every day and wherever you ask him to play he plays it to a high level. Tactically he’s improving all the time and he’s an absolute joy to work with.”

The Scotland star also took games in the Champions League and on the international stage in his stride too. In 2017, Tierney was named in UEFA’s breakthrough team of the year.

As I’ve already said the player is a diligent defender but that doesn’t mean he can’t get forward too. He doesn’t burst up the line just as much as Robertson but he does time his runs and has a great cross on him too.

The defender is also reactionary, hence why he wins plenty of tackles and chooses when to get into attacking positions.

Looking at Arsenal from the past few years, they could be doing with a more discipline fullback and not just one that attacks first and thinks about defending second.

Celtic aren’t in financial trouble, they know they’ve got a fine young talent in Kieran Tierney and they also have him tied down to a long-term contract. That’s why they can hold out and get the price (or at least very close to it) when they are negotiating with potential suitors.

They’ve sold players like Victor Wanyama and Virgil van Dijk and they’ve become players for top four sides in England. They believe that Tierney has that same talent and importantly they know the youngster won’t throw his toys out of the pram to force a move.

If Arsenal get Kieran Tierney, then I believe, they’ll be getting a hugely talented player who will only get better. But if they want him, then they will need to offer more than £20m for his services. Ultimately it all depends on The Gunners need for the player.

Posted on June 27th, 2019 by scott
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