It’s frustrating to see that Kieran Tierney is reportedly only valued at £25m by the club. The lack of esteem that the Scottish Premiership is held in down south, of course, plays a role but Celtic are doing a disservice to the fans if they let him go so cheaply.
The defender is a Hoops fan through and through. He would dearly love for the club to win a historic ten in a row, and he is not a player desperately wanting to leave.
At 22 years of age, he is in no rush to fulfil any ambitions he has either so, unlike Moussa Dembele, he’s not going to force through a sale.
With all that being said then, you have to scratch your head at why Celtic are seemingly willing to sell up amid interest from Arsenal.
The Scottish club clearly have money in the bank. The £19m sale of Dembele last summer was not fully reinvested into the playing squad, and while some may have been sucked up by the failure to qualify for the Champions League group stages. they clearly have room to manoeuvre in the transfer market.
In that respect, it makes the £25m asking price seem even more undervalued. You have to consider comparisons with other fullbacks of the same age as well.
Manchester United are currently in talks to sign Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace. The right-back is one year younger than Tierney but the Eagles are said to be close to agreeing a fee in the region of £55m.
There is, of course, the fact that Wan-Bissaka is young and English which may add £10m to £15m to his valuation, but even so, it doesn’t justify the disparity between the two players.
The Palace defender has just one full season of senior football under his belt while Tierney has made 170 appearances for Celtic, 41 of which were in European competitions.
When setting a price tag, these are the facts that Celtic should be telling potential suitors:
- The club don’t need to sell
- The player is loyal to the club and is happy to stay
- His ability and experience is superior to a player like Wan-Bissaka who is valued at £55m
Whether Celtic will hold on to Tierney, it seems unlikely considering the club’s previous track record. They have sold players regularly in the past but selling a boyhood fan with so much talent on the cheap would be very hard to accept.