Pat Nevin believes Kieran Tierney’s return to Celtic effectively ends any chance of Andy Robertson fulfilling his dream of playing for his boyhood club…
After six years in North London, Tierney has returned to the Scottish championship on a free transfer, having agreed a pre-contract earlier this year. The Celtic fans-favourite left for the Gunners in 2019 in a record-breaking £25 million deal for the Hoops.
Tierney returns to Celtic at peak of his career
Now 28, the Scotland international returns to Brendan Rodgers’ side at the peak of his career, carrying with him a wealth of experience from both Champions League and international competition.
Meanwhile, Andy Robertson, who was let go from Celtic’s youth system before building a stellar career at Queen’s Park, Dundee United, Hull City, and Liverpool, is another who has been spoken about as possibly making his way back up the road.
With Arne Slot reportedly closing in on a £45 million deal for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez, Scotland captain Robertson may be nearing the exit door at Anfield.
While Atletico Madrid have shown serious interest, the emotional connection to Celtic could still weigh heavily on the 31-year-old, just as it did for Tierney. However, pundit Pat Nevin believes that with his international teammate returning to Celtic, any possibility of Robertson following suit is now off the table.
Speaking to Spin Genie, Nevin said: “You know when a team like Liverpool are spending £40, £50 million on new players, that they are going to buy someone for them to come and sit on the bench. Milos Kerkez is joining with a view to replacing Andy Robertson.”
“There are two things Andy can do”
“There are two things Andy can do: either fight for his place or think, ‘I don’t want to spend the last few years of my career on the bench, so I’ll leave.’ He needs to have a good talk with Arne Slot and make a decision.”
Brendan Rodgers would have sam problem as Steve Clarke
Nevin continued: “The good thing for him is that there will be plenty of offers on the table. There will be offers from Spain, other English clubs and I’m sure Celtic would take him if it were an affordable prospect. With two left-backs [including Kieran Tierney], however, Brendan Rodgers would end up with the same problem Steve Clarke faces, which is trying to shoehorn them both into the team. Kieran Tierney joining Celtic could prevent it from happening.”
Nevin reckons Robertson should stay at Liverpool for another year
“With that being said, though, I, personally, would like to see him stick it out for another year at Liverpool, but that’s only if he’s been told that he’s still in the manager’s thinking. If he’s not, I’d get out now.”
Conor Spence
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