According to the latest reports from the Scottish Sun, Arsenal’s bid of £25m for Kieran Tierney has been rejected by Celtic. It was largely believed that the Hoops are valuing him at the £25m mark, but that didn’t do the trick for Arsenal. The report adds that Arsenal’s bid included add ons and Celtic are not ready to accept that kind of pay structure for Tierney. The Gunners will have to increase their basic transfer fee closer to the £25m mark.
However, even after the first two bids being rejected, Arsenal remains confident that they will get their man. The English club is in pole position to sign the fullback ahead of Serie A heavyweights Napoli. It is expected that Arsenal will adjust the terms of the deal and come back with a third offer.
Therefore Tierney’s departure has only likely been delayed and not stopped. The defender is currently out with a pelvic injury, and Lennon brought in Boli Bolingoli Mbombo in the transfer market from Rapid Wien. With Emilio Izaguirre also departing and if the move for Tierney goes through, then we expect the Hoops to go after another left-sided fullback in this transfer window.
That is not going to be easy as Celtic have found it hard in the transfer market to solve some of their problem areas. The Bhoys are still in search for a top right back, and they are yet to find any options.
Are Celtic right in the way they are dealing with Tierney situation?
We think that Celtic could have eked out a few more millions given the way this transfer window is going. Aaron Wan Bissaka was sold for £50m to Manchester United after the fullback had one good season in the English top flight. Celtic are definitely right in asking more of the £25m in upfront money. However, if the deal keeps on stalling, the Bhoys won’t be able to use that funds to invest in their squad in this window.
Celtic surely wouldn’t want a situation like Moussa Dembele to develop again where they sold him in the final moments of the transfer window and the club never really got an opportunity to replace him or invest in other areas of the squad in that window.
Ideally, Celtic should have kept hold of Tierney for this season given the fact that there is so much rebuilding to do at the moment. Having to replace another player in the transfer market will add undue pressure on the board and management team. Moreover, Tierney still has plenty of good years left in him as he is still just 22. Therefore Celtic should have probably had a ‘not for sale’ stance on Tierney, especially for this season.
