There is absolutely no question that the return of Kieran Tierney to Celtic has been a brilliant piece of business.
Brendan Rodgers should be lauded for his part in ensuring Tierney left Arsenal to come to Celtic on a free transfer.
The former £25m defender was allowed to let his contract run down at the Premier League club which allowed Celtic to step in and make their move for the classy full-back.
Now back at the club, Tierney is Greg Taylor’s direct replacement, but Celtic hero Chris Sutton has raised one concern about the former Arsenal man.
Chris Sutton questions Kieran Tierney’s Celtic full-back role
Greg Taylor made that left fullback role his own and when Ange Postecoglou turned him into an inverted full-back, the Scotland defender’s Celtic career really took off.
But Sutton doubts Tierney can fulfil that exact role as he pointed out how he was played in Celtic’s win against St Mirren.
Sutton said on Sky Sports, “I think you know, all Celtic fans really excited to see him back. Brilliant to see him back.
“I suppose it was more the role that he plays. We know he is a good one-to-one defender, but in that attacking sense, and the way that Greg Taylor played that role, more inverted. We saw Kieran yesterday especially, play more of a conventional role.
“Taylor was brilliant at drifting across and sitting in alongside Callum McGregor, making the play, but he was a wonderful footballer.
“It’s maybe something like Kieran Tierney didn’t play enough at Arsenal, because he couldn’t play that role as well.”
Sutton tells Celtic fans Kieran Tierney is ‘just going to get better and better’
Despite Sutton’s reservations about Tierney’s ability to play that inverted full-back role, the former Celtic striker made a brilliant prediction about the defender for the Hoops fans.
Sutton continued, “But I think it’s one to watch in weeks to come. We saw yesterday, just place him out wide giving that thrust down the left, and hit Adam Idah as the central striker with early crosses.
“Plenty of touches in the first half, I think the most touches in the first half, 65 minutes under his belt, and he’s just going to get better and better.
“But I think the way that Brendan uses him, it’s going to be really interesting to see whether he goes back to sort of trying to move him into that inverted role, or sort of mixes and matches with him playing out wide.”
However Rodgers decides to play Tierney in the Celtic team, there is no doubt that he adds quality to the starting line-up.
His performance against St Mirren was impressive and he was a constant thorn down that left flank in the first half at Celtic Park.
With more game time under his belt, Sutton is correct, Tierney will get better and that should frighten SPFL defences this season.
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