Tierney on track to hit the heights after yet another top performance

EYEBROWS were raised when Celtic manager Ronny Deila declared in April 2016 that Kieran Tierney could become Scotland’s first world-class footballer since Kenny Dalglish.

But fast-forward 18 months and the Norwegian’s bold prediction about his up-and-coming left-back is looking more inevitable than outlandish.

On Wednesday night, the talented 20-year-old put in yet another terrific performance for Celtic as Aberdeen, Scotland’s second force, were mercilessly swatted aside 3-0 at Pittodrie.

Tierney (below) opened the scoring with a sensational tight-angled finish at the back post, finding the net after a fine ball across goal from Moussa Dembele.

Impressive as Tierney’s goal was, the Scotland international soon bettered it as he repaid the favour to Dembele for the second goal. After a lung-bursting run down the left, leaving Shay Logan for dead, the youngster laid the ball on a plate for the deadly Frenchman with a world-class delivery.

It is performances like that, since Deila handed Tierney his first-team debut for Celtic at Dundee in April 2015, that have seen him steadily draw interest from the great and the good of the game down south.

Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Southampton, and Chelsea have all been monitoring his progress. Earlier this month, Tierney was watched for a second time by Tottenham when Celtic lost 3-0 against Bayern Munich in Bavaria in the Champions League.

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino had previously sent a representative to watch the full-back against Kazakh side Astana and the scout returned with a glowing report.

Scotland’s last truly world-class player, Dalglish left Celtic Park for England in 1977, joining Liverpool for a then-British record transfer fee of £440,000.

But former Celtic and Scotland left-back Stephen Crainey believes Tierney may remain at Parkhead and become a much-loved, longserving top-class full-back in the Danny McGrain mould.

‘Kieran Tierney had a great game against Aberdeen but, to be fair to him, he’s been a consistently high performer since he broke into the Celtic team,’ said Crainey, who spent seven years at Celtic before going on to play for clubs down south including Southampton, Leeds United, Blackpool and Wigan.

‘He is really consistent in every game and I can only see him getting better and better. It will be interesting to see how far he can go in his career because he has high potential. ‘I still follow the Celtic team and their achievements and Kieran looks as if he has the dedication to his profession and the hard work ethic to become a really top full-back. ‘Could he perform at the highest level? He is already doing it at the highest level with Celtic in the Champions League. And why should he move when he — and the club — are playing in the Champions League every year? ‘I think the way Kieran is, and the bond he has with the Celtic fans, it would not surprise me if he stays at Celtic for a long, long time. ‘Just listening to the interviews and reading between the lines, it’s obvious he is Celtic-daft. He has grown up supporting Celtic and went to all the games as a kid. He seems really happy and content at the club. ‘And when Scott Brown is injured, he is the stand-in captain. I think he will be there at Celtic for a long, long time — in the Danny McGrain mould. ‘And, as a Celtic fan, I certainly hope that is the case.’ Since making his international debut against Denmark in March 2016, Tierney has amassed eight caps, mainly out of position at right-back. But given his fine form on the left at Aberdeen on Wednesday, should Gordon Strachan’s successor as Scotland boss select Tierney in his best position? ‘It’s unfortunate because Scotland are really blessed for left-backs just now,’ said Crainey, who played 12 times for his country between 2002 and 2011. ‘I think Andrew Roberson at Liverpool is a top left-back, as well. So it’s a difficult one — it’s just a shame that one of them is not a right-back. ‘But even though Kieran Tierney has been playing right-back for Scotland, I still thought he was one of Scotland’s best players in the World Cup qualifiers. ‘Whoever gets the Scotland job will have that tough decision to make about who starts at left-back in the next campaign.’