‘Tierney could go to any club – and they’ll have to
FORMER Chelsea, Everton and Scotland winger Pat Nevin has been singing the praises of Kieran Tierney for so long that his BBC colleagues in England now tend to switch off when he launches his latest eulogy for the player.
Yet the monotony of his message merely reflects the consistent excellence of the Arsenal full-back, who was outstanding once again in Scotland’s 4-0 rout of the Faroe Islands on Wednesday, claiming three assists while – notionally, at least – operating as part of a back three.
For Nevin, that encapsulates Tierney, who has the potential to become the greatest and most influential Scotland player since Kenny Dalglish.
“It didn’t surprise me that he had three assists while playing as a centre-back,” Nevin claimed. “I don’t think there’s a better left-sided attacking defensive player in the world right now; no-one springs to mind that I would pick ahead of him. He’s the best. Even when he was still at Celtic and Andy Robertson was winning the Champions League with Liverpool, I thought Kieran was the better of the two. There are only two players in Scottish football that I’ve ever urged Chelsea to sign: one was Virgil van Dijk and the other was KT.
“What amazed me was that it took English clubs so long to make a move for Kieran and that there wasn’t a major bidding war for him. Liverpool already had someone in that position but I couldn’t get my head round why the others showed no interest, which I can only assume is because there is a bias against the Scottish game.
“I also think that the £25m fee Arsenal paid for him was a joke, especially when you compare that to the £45m Chelsea then spent to sign
Ben Chilwell from Leicester
City, a point I’ve since made to several people down there.”
Celtic supporters used to serenade the product of their academy in song as one of their own, although some disowned him for what they perceived to be treachery when he left to join the Gunners in 2019, when the champions were only two titles away from the coveted 10 in a row.
“Those Celtic fans who turned against him for leaving can maybe now understand why he had to go,” Nevin said.
“He did a great job for Celtic for five years and, when he left, they made £25m clear profit on him. But he’s now a better player and, while he would also have improved had he stayed at Parkhead, he’s become better quicker because he’s playing against stronger opponents in England every single week.
“He also has a very short career and he’s right to make the most of it. Kieran could go anywhere and I wouldn’t be surprised if he became the world’s most expensive defender. The highest fees tend to go to central players – centre-halfs, playmakers, strikers – but he’s everything.
“We’ve seen him play rightback, left-back and in the middle of the back four for Scotland and his passing is so good he could easily play in midfield as well. Anyone buying him is getting someone who could play in four different positions and not as back-up – as first choice. There’s no coach in the world who would turn that down. You also notice that the best attacking full-backs – like Robertson and Trent AlexanderArnold
at Liverpool – aren’t great defenders, which Tierney is. He’s exactly what you want at both ends of the pitch and there are remarkably few players you can say that about. Plus he’s a leader.
“People at 5Live get bored when I go on about how brilliant he is but I won’t stop because he’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen. He should become Arsenal’s captain but if Manchester City could sign him tomorrow then they would – and he’d probably cost more than [Harry] Maguire [£80m].”