Kieran Tierney was seen as the nailed-on success of Celtic’s transfer window.
The defender was reunited with Brendan Rodgers after a turbulent six-year spell at Arsenal which saw him battle with his fitness.
Despite this, his time in London saw him establish himself as one of the key members of Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad and claim an FA Cup winners’ medal.
He came to Celtic Park to replace Greg Taylor, and the tactical transition between the two could definitely have been smoother. He also now faces competition from Marcelo Saracchi.
For one former Celtic hero, there are serious questions over Tierney’s form so far.
Chris Sutton on Kieran Tierney situation with Brendan Rodgers
Tierney has only been able to complete a full 90 minutes on one occasion since making his Parkhead return.
This, coupled with a struggle to hit his best form when on the pitch, has led to some unlikely early conversations about his place in the team.
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For Chris Sutton, Tierney’s form will be having a knock-on effect in the thought process of Rodgers.
He said on the Record Celtic Podcast: “I think Brendan doesn’t know what his best team is. You’ve got the left-back situation, Kieran Tierney miles off it.
“There’s an argument that with Saracchi coming in, Celtic have a better balance to the team because he can play that role. I’m not going to argue that.
“Brendan’s probably thinking as he did last week, Kieran will be better on that left hand side as a centre half. I get that, but then there’s that whole change of formation.
“But then in forward positions, it does worry me because Celtic still seem short in forward areas playing that 3-4-3.”
Kieran Tierney vs Greg Taylor
Tierney is far from a liability on the ball, but his skillset is undoubtedly different to that of his predecessor at left-back.
Taylor did not take up the average positions of a left-back. At times, he and Callum McGregor were essentially a double pivot.
As shown in the Hoops’ defeat against Braga, Tierney is more suited to a wide role in a back three nowadays. He can operate on the overlap, but Rodgers needs his full-backs to do more.
Whether any further tactical tweaks are made to get the best out of Tierney will be interesting to see, but fitness remains a big question mark too.
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