Callum McGregor is a fantastic leader in the Celtic dressing room.
Taking over the Celtic captaincy from Scott Brown was never going to be an easy task but McGregor has taken to it like a duck to water.
Leading the Bhoys to their fourth title in a row and a cup double under Brendan Rodgers last season, McGregor will be hoping to go one further and take this Celtic team to another treble.
And according to Celtic scout Tosh McKinlay, Rodgers has given McGregor some reinforcements in the Hoops’ dressing room when he completed one transfer signing this summer.
Tosh McKinlay says Kieran Tierney is Celtic’s new dressing room leader
To be successful at Celtic, the dressing room needs strong characters at the club who know not only what it takes to win, but what it means to play in Paradise.
And Celtic scout Tosh McKinlay believes that in Kieran Tierney, Rodgers has signed a player who can help McGregor convey that message to the Parkhead dressing room.
McKinlay told The Celtic Way, “Tierney has come back to Celtic armed with a lot of football experience. Celtic have somehow managed to sign an experienced player who has amassed almost 150 games in the English Premier League and Spanish La Liga combined.
“He will also be Callum McGregor’s lieutenant in the dressing room. Tierney can say to the new guys coming into the club like Benjamin Nygren, ‘This is what it’s like to play for this club.’
“I think that’s important because when I signed for Celtic, there was Peter Grant, John Collins, Tom Boyd, the captain Paul McStay, and Charlie Nicholas was still around in the dressing room.
“So, there was a nucleus of players who knew what it was like to win things for Celtic, and they would pass on that information.
“Kieran’s had that as a young kid at Celtic, and he will have had influential players like Scott Brown and [[Callum McGregor]] around helping him.”
What Kieran Tierney learned at Arsenal will help Celtic in the Champions League
Celtic are due to play in the Champions League qualifiers in August and McKinlay believes that what the full-back learned at Arsenal will be a big benefit to the Hoops in the competition this season.
McKinlay continued, “He has gone away, he’s gained the experience of going into a dressing room at both Arsenal and Real Sociedad stacked full of internationals and world-class players, and he’s had to adapt to those environments and fit into them.
“He’s now coming back to Celtic with a wealth of experience that will come to the fore if Celtic can reach the Champions League league phase like they did last season.
“Celtic are getting a much more rounded and improved player in terms of the education and experience he has received. He will be champing at the bit to put all that learning to good use.”
The last time Tierney was at Celtic under Rodgers, he didn’t have the best of times in the Champions League after suffering heavy defeats to the likes of PSG and Barcelona.
Celtic looked a different outfit in UEFA’s top competition last season and having Tierney in the squad can only help Rodgers push the club forward.
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