Kieran Tierney’s time at Arsenal seems to be up so what next for former Celtic left-back who left Parkhead for a £25m transfer fee…
KT’s name was snubbed from Arsenal’s squad list on the match day programme for their recent pre-season friendly fixtures with many speculating that he will now depart the club before the transfer window closes.
One man that knows Tierney well is former Celtic and Scotland manager Gordon Strachan. The Scotland icon handed Tierney his international debut and recently discussed his injury and the next steps in his career with topoffshorecasinos.com.
“It’s really sad that Kieran Tierney got injured because he’s got wonderful ability. It’s difficult for me to say what the future holds for KT as we don’t really know the full extent of his injury and his recovery time.
He’ll be working hard at his rehabilitation
“What you can say is that the injury couldn’t have happened at a worse time. He got injured at the European Championships, and it will have likely disrupted any plans he had for himself this summer in terms of playing regular football. Of course, he’ll be working hard at his rehabilitation – sadly, he’s been in this position before – but if it’s a recurring injury then you do a worry about that,” Strachan said.
Strachan praised KT’s “character” and “heart” and set him a playing target for the forthcoming season to get his career back on track.
He has an unbelievable character
“You can’t question his character and who he is as a person. He has an unbelievable character. He wasn’t one of these prodgies that’s been handed everything, he worked for everything he got at Celtic.
“He’s a reminder to all these kids that move at a young age for a few extra quid and never see their careers catch fire. KT came through after James Forrest and Callum McGregor. There’s a common denominator between the three of them – they are all hard-working, humble guys. Nothing flashy about any of them.
“I just really hope that he can come back from this and stay fit. He should be looking to stay fit for a full season, and if he can do that, then someone will have a top player on their hands. He can play at left back, he can play wing back, centre back – he’s a wonderful character in the dressing room. He’s got a good heart,” Strachan added.
Brendan Rodgers is a great admirer of KT
Before his latest injury Kieran Tierney was reportedly wanted by Real Sociedad, where he spent last season on loan and performed well but also had injury concerns in the Basque Country. Brendan Rodgers is of course a great admirer of KT but Celtic would not want to pay the transfer fee that Arsenal would be looking for (although that must be reducing rapidly). KT’s wages would be another huge hurdle, preventing any notion of a Celtic re-union.
That is only likely to happen if Kieran gets to the end of his Arsenal deal, which still has two years to go on his contract. A quick search on Google shows the kind of money involved here:
Kieran Tierney signed a 5 year , $28,600,000 contract with the Arsenal F.C., including an average annual salary of $5,720,000. In 2024, Tierney will earn a base salary of $5,720,000, while carrying a cap hit of $5,720,000.
Arsenal are currently looking for £10m but surely that has to have been reduced with the Scotland injury at Euro2024 and the player dropping out of the squad list for the new season. Those numbers indicate that there will be no Celtic return anytime soon for KT.
KT to Celtic in 2026 is the most likely outcome for any return to Paradise for a very wealthy prodigal son.
Apparently the Arsenal fans call KT ‘The Ice King’ because he’s always got an icepack on his legs.
