FourFourTwo has ranked former two former Celtic Academy players in their list of top 10 left-backs; Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson.
The magazine lists Tierney and Robertson amongst the likes of Jordi Alba, Alphonso Davies and Luke Shaw [FourFourTwo]. Tierney comes 6th in the ranking, while Robertson, who was let go by Celtic for being “too small”, finishes first.
Robertson had dreamt of playing for Celtic, having been born into a Bhoys-supporting family [TalkSport]. Instead, he ended up at Queen’s Park, then worked with former Hoops captain Jackie McNamara at Dundee United. The rest, as they say, is history.
While neither are at Celtic any more, it does say a great deal about the Academy set-up. While Kieran Tierney was an exception rather than the rule, breaking through young under Ronny Deila, what he’s achieved since has been extraordinary.
FourFourTwo said of Tierney:
“The 23-year-old is aggressive on and off the ball, hassling and harrying opposition wingers when out of possession and bombing forward when his side has the ball.
“Unless Arsenal can offer the former Celtic man a better chance of winning major silverware in the seasons ahead, it might be tough to keep hold of him.”
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Success of Kieran Tierney is of immense credit to Celtic
Something of a throw-back, Tierney was one of those talented, lucky guys who went from being an obsessive to a fan favourite. That just doesn’t happen a great deal any more.
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And while he may have left for Arsenal, the fact he’s become their most important player speaks volumes about what the Celtic Academy can do. Ditto Robertson, although hindsight is a sore one from our perspective.
Being ranked above former and current Barcelona stars in Lucas Digne and Jordi Alba is a big deal. FourFourTwo don’t necessarily throw acclaim around willy-nilly.
Who will be the next Celtic star to become one of the world’s best in his position? It’s hard to say. For years, there was immense hype about Karamoko Dembele. There are certainly high hopes for the likes of Rocco Vata and Owen Moffat.
Will we see another Academy product hit these kinds of heights some time soon?
You’ve got to hope so.
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