The departure of Brendan Rodgers to Leicester City from Celtic midway through the season didn’t earn the Northern Irish manager any brownie points. However, what would infuriate Celtic fans even more is when Rodgers comes calling for some of their top players. According to a report from Leicestershire Live, the Foxes are tipped to sign Kieran Tierney in the summer, and the odds have been kept at just 2/1.
The Scottish full-back has struggled with a hip issue this season and has missed a chunk of games since January. Nevertheless, Lennon would want to have him back and fit for the next season. At 21, the Scotsman also captains the side in the absence of Scott Brown and is one of the fan favourites at the club.
There is no doubt in our mind that Tierney is the best left back in the division. Therefore there is a sense of inevitability that the defender would depart from the club for bigger and better things in the future. Last summer also, the defender attracted a lot of interest and was close to joining Everton. It will come as no surprise to anyone if Tierney is subject to more bids this summer.
Why Celtic need Tierney for the next season?
Any other season, we would have claimed that if the Hoops get a decent offer for him, then they should look to cash in. We feel that Tierney can fetch somewhere in the region of £25-30m and that can be termed as a good piece of business for the club as that would give them enough funds to find his replacement and even bolster some of their other areas.
However, this summer transfer window could be frantic for the Bhoys as quite a few players are in line to move away from the club. Some players’ loan spells are expiring, and others are going to be out of contract. Celtic might have to sign a striker, two centre backs, a winger, a right back and even a left back as Emilio Izaguirre is in the final few months of his contract.
Thus if the club goes on to sell Tierney in the upcoming window (even for good money), then that would add a lot of pressure on his replacement. Even with cash in hand, looking for replacements isn’t easy.
Moreover, the manager position for the next season is also undecided, and the board will have a tough window which will be full of negotiations. They should not aggravate a new problem by selling Tierney (even for decent money), and the Scottish fullback will be needed more than ever next season.
