Celtic have rejected a second bid from Arsenal for left-back Kieran Tierney as the Gunners’ chase for the 22-year-old continues.
BBC Scotland’s Chris McLaughlin broke the news on Twitter that the Scottish champions turned down an offer of £25million for the player, who is believed to be keen on moving to England.
That offer was a significant increase on the £15m bid that Arsenal first submitted for Tierney, one which Celtic flatly rejected.
BBC’s report stated that Arsenal were optimistic that their improved instalments-based offer would enable a deal to be reached, but instead they will need to continue negotiations with Celtic for the defender.
Despite being only 22, Tierney has already achieved quite a lot at Celtic. He has played 170 times for the club and won five SPL titles, three Scottish Cups and three Scottish League Cups.
He won the Scottish Players’ Young Player of the Year after only one full season in the SPL, played in the Champions League away to Barcelona at 19 and captained Celtic only two months after turning 20.
He also has 12 Scotland caps to his name, having made his debut at 18 and captained his country before his 21st birthday.
Tierney is hugely experienced for such a young player and has been named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year three times. In 95 games for Celtic over the last two seasons, he has scored five goals from left-back and provided 17 assists, a very good return for a defender. That averages out at 0.05 goals and 0.18 assists per game.
The summer signing of Boli Bolingoli at least ensures that, if Tierney leaves, Neil Lennon already has a senior left-back in his place. The 24-year-old made his debut for the club in last week’s 3-1 win away to Sarajevo in the Champions League qualifiers, with Tierney continuing his recovery from a double hernia operation.
The Belgian defender played with Rapid Vienna for the last two seasons, where he scored three goals and supplied 10 assists in 73 appearances for the Austrian club, averaging 0.04 goals and 0.14 assists per game.
Bolingoli’s statistics aren’t vastly inferior, but Tierney still seems too important for Celtic to let go without a fight and they are justified in digging their heels in and testing how high Arsenal will go in their attempts to sign him.
Celtic fans, do you think the club were right to reject Arsenal’s £25m offer for Tierney? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below!
