Celtic land 'massive bonus' with latest transfer deal

It’s not often a Scottish football club lands the complete package football signing for free, but there is a strong argument for such a scenario in the case of Celtic and Kieran Tierney.

The Scotland defender’s return to Celtic, six years after leaving for Arsenal, was confirmed on Tuesday afternoon. Tierney has penned a five-year contract with his boyhood club and his return has been warmly welcomed by all of a Celtic persuasion.

The left-back won his 50th cap for Scotland against Iceland earlier this month and comes back to Glasgow with experience of the English Premier League with the Gunners, plus a season on loan with Real Sociedad in La Liga. He is comfortable playing as a centre-half these days and, as Celtic B coach Stephen McManus points out, has plenty of miles left to put on the clock.

Kieran Tierney has returned to Celtic on a five-year deal. | SNS Group

“Listen, it's massive,” McManus said of Tierney’s homecoming. “The biggest thing is the age that he's at, coming back. It's not as if he's coming back with two years to go within his career. He's still got his full career ahead of him, which is great. You look at the knowledge that he's then gained, being at Arsenal, being away, playing in major tournaments now for Scotland as well. I think it's brilliant. I think it's really, really good. The fact that he's coming and hopefully he's got a good few years ahead of him. He can stay fit and he can bring his personality and his quality to not just the football team, but to the whole football club.”

McManus – a true leader in the Celtic teams he played in and now a coach of youngsters – knows a thing or two about setting examples. He believes the influence Tierney can have on the dressing-room as well as on the pitch is just as important to manager Brendan Rodgers.

“It's probably one of the biggest things once you become that kind of experienced player,” continued McManus, speaking to promote Celtic’s friendly with Newcastle United next month. “When you're young and you're developing and you're playing, you play with no fear, but then the older you get, you start to then take interest in a lot more of what goes on around the football club. How you conduct yourself on the pitch, how you conduct yourself off the pitch, especially a club like here, it becomes really important.

A Celtic captain-in-waiting

“You can see that with Callum [McGregor], you can see that with James [Forrest], the ones that have come through the academy structure here for a long period of time. They're very similar in their personalities and that's really important. Kieran's going to then bring that as well. Again, he's younger than the other two boys, so it's going to be a massive, massive bonus not just for the football club, but also for the national team as well.”

McManus accepts the notion that Celtic have another captain-in-waiting in Tierney. “You never know what's around the corner,” he said. “I think if Callum doesn't play for whatever reason, there's somebody that's got the personality, he's got the profile, he's got the ability. But like I said, it's just a brilliant signing for the football club because he brings so much on the pitch and so much off the pitch.

“You need people that know the football club to take it on to the next level because you're always educating the next ones that then come. But first and foremost, Kieran's a top, top footballer. He's not coming back because he's a Celtic fan. I think that's important as well. He's coming back because he's a top, top footballer and he's going to bring his experiences, his knowledge and his qualities so that he can then help our football club move forward.”

Even at the relatively tender age of 28, Tierney is now the fourth oldest player in the current squad. “Your job once you become an experienced player is to educate the younger ones and that's when you speak of the business model of the football club,” added McManus. “What's the recruitment strategy? What does it look like? So Kieran fits that bill because, again, he knows the club but he's a fantastic footballer and his best years are still ahead of him.

“So, again, he's going to help your Callums, your Jameses because they're not going to be able to keep going forever. That's just the way the game goes. So it's going to be a brilliant signing.”