Celtic reward rising star Tierney with six-year deal
● Celtic’s prize asset signs new six-year contract ahead of Bayern Munich clash
Kieran Tierney’s stellar progress at Celtic has seen him rewarded with his second long-term contract extension at the club in less than 18 months.
The highly-regarded leftback has signed a new sixyear deal on enhanced terms with the Scottish champions which will run until the summer of 2023.
It was only in June 2016, shortly after Brendan Rodgers’ arrival as manager, that Tierney penned a five-year contract which was scheduled to expire in 2021.
The 20-year-old’s stock has continued to rise ever since and Celtic have moved to add further protection to their prize asset. Already capped eight times for Scotland, Tierney has attracted the interest of several English Premier League clubs. The boyhood Celtic fan, however, has consistently made it clear where his loyalties lie.
“I’ve signed a long-term contract at the club I support,” said Tierney. “I’m buzzing. I got a long-term deal last year when the manager first came in. To have another one so soon is brilliant for me. I still can’t believe it, it’s just amazing.”
News of Tierney’s extended commitment provided a major boost for Celtic ahead of their Champions League showdown against Bayern Munich in Glasgow tonight.
It is a match which could see
BRENDAN RODGERS “Whatever one I play out of Moussa or Leigh is purely on the basis of the game at hand”
Moussa Dembele make his first starting appearance of the group stage this season. Celtic boss Rodgers believes Dembele, who missed two months of the season with a hamstring injury, is now back to his best both mentally and physically.
The French striker scored five goals in the Champions League last season, three of them in the group stage, to rapidly build a reputation which saw him linked with a number of leading European clubs, including Bayern.
During his injury absence, Dembele has seen Leigh Griffiths impressively stake his claim as Celtic’s first-choice striker. But Dembele has scored four goals in his last three appearances, form which has earned him a place in the provisional French squad for next month’s games against Wales and Germany.
The 21-year-old is now in line to be preferred to Griffiths as the focal point of Celtic’s attack tonight.
“Whatever one I play out of Moussa or Leigh is purely on the basis of the game at hand,” said Rodgers.
“Leigh has been great since he came back from his own injury. He has done exceptionally well but it is really important that both of them stay fit.
“Moussa is a boy who is quite relaxed about it all. You saw it
when he scored two at Aberdeen last week.
“He just has a great belief in his ability and he understands. He is very respectful. He wants to do well but he understood that, during the time he was out injured, Leigh was very, very good.
“We had a couple of conversations, just reinforcing the work and mentality needed to get back to his level.
“It’s just been a process with him – dipping him in for 30 minutes, then a bit longer. Then, of course, at Aberdeen he was absolutely outstanding.
“He is a fantastic player. He has come here to improve and be better and he has definitely done that over the course of the last 17 months.”
As Celtic look to upset the odds and claim a notable victory, Rodgers admits they have been encouraged by the news that Bayern will be missing top scorer Robert Lewandowski and attacking midfielder Thomas Muller because of injuries.
“If you are missing one of the world’s best strikers and one of the leading players in the world over the last decade then, of course, it gives you that bit of hope,” said the Celtic boss. “Okay, they might replace one with a £60m loanee in James Rodriguez and someone else will come in, like Arturo Vidal, who is a good player. But Bayern, like all the best teams, are all about the collective so this is a big test for us.”