Celtic did not do too many pieces of business during the latest January transfer window but they did make two additions to bolster their playing squad.
They brought in Jota from Rennes on a permanent deal, 18 months on from his move to Al-Ittihad from the Hoops, and they swooped to sign left-back Jeffrey Schlupp on loan from Crystal Palace.
The Ghana international, who was selected ahead of Greg Taylor, started and scored his first goal for the club in the 5-2 win over St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.
Celtic’s new full-back angled a brilliant strike into the far bottom corner to open his account for the Bhoys, and Brendan Rodgers may have a decision to make in the summer as Schlupp’s contract at Palace expires at the end of this season.
Greg Taylor’s contract at Celtic is due to expire at the same time and the Eagles defender could be viewed as a replacement for him, if they can convince him to sign permanently on a free transfer.
That does not mean that he would be the first-choice at left-back next season, though, as Kieran Tierney is due to join the Hoops ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
Why Kieran Tierney could be a big signing for Celtic
Last month, it was revealed that the Scottish giants have agreed a pre-contract deal with the Arsenal defender, and he will sign on a free transfer upon the expiry of his deal at The Emirates this summer.
The Scotland international joined the Gunners from Celtic for a fee of £25m back in 2019 and is now due to return to Parkhead, six years later, for £0.
Tierney, as you can see in the graphic above, enjoyed a terrific first spell with the Scottish giants after rising through the academy ranks, winning five Premiership titles and contributing directly to 45 goals.
Unfortunately, though, the 27-year-old warrior’s time with Arsenal has been blighted by injury problems. He has only made 131 appearances in just under six years at The Emirates, and has missed at least 17 games through injury in five of his six seasons since moving on from Parkhead.
The last time Tierney reached 30 appearances in a single league season was all the way back in the 2017/18 campaign for Celtic in the Premiership, which speaks to how much his injury issues have hampered him of late.
If the Hoops can keep him fit, or at least fit enough to play a significant amount of minutes, then the Scottish ace could be a big signing for the club, because he is a proven performer who already knows what it takes to play for Celtic – having done it before.
Tierney has proven himself to be a superb, attack-minded, left-back who can provide a fantastic threat at the top end of the pitch, which Rodgers can look forward to benefitting from once again next season.
Celtic, however, once had a left-back on their books at academy level who has gone on to become an even better player than the Arsenal man.
Celtic fumbled world-class defender
Andy Robertson spent six years of his academy career with the Hoops, from 2003 to 2009, before he was released at the age of 15 and moved to Queen’s Park.
Where Are They Now
The academy chiefs seemingly decided that he did not have the potential to make it all the way to the first-team at Parkhead and decided to release him for £0 in the summer of 2009.
When asked why he was released, the current Liverpool star once said: “Height was a part of it, also the physicality – I wasn’t exactly muscle-bound. I got released at a time of quite a lot of change at Celtic. Quite a lot of players at all age groups got released.”
It is not uncommon to hear stories about promising young players who were released by one club due to their lack of physical qualities at a young age, only to develop physically and shine elsewhere.
Unfortunately, for Celtic, this is one of the stories with a happy ending for the player, as Robertson went on to play for Queen’s Park, Dundee United, and Hull City before he eventually made a huge name for himself with Liverpool.
Andy Robertson is even better than Kieran Tierney
Tierney, who is three years younger than his international teammate, was the left-back who eventually made his way into the first-team after coming through the youth teams.
However, it is Robertson who has gone on to enjoy the better career out of the two, as he has been a mainstay for a Liverpool team that is on the verge of a second Premier League title, whilst also being in contention to win a second Champions League trophy.
Meanwhile, the only major trophy Tierney has won in his senior career with Arsenal has been the FA Cup, which suggests that Arne Slot’s current star has enjoyed more success at club level.
The Reds won the top-flight title in the 2019/20 campaign and the Scotland international played an integral role, with 12 assists in 36 Premier League matches that term.
The 30-year-old star, who was once hailed as “world-class” by former boss Jurgen Klopp, has racked up 332 first-team appearances for Liverpool in all competitions and made the PFA Team of the Year on two occasions (2018/19 & 2019/20).
His injury record is also far superior to Tierney’s. Since moving to Anfield in 2017, Robertson has only missed more than seven games through injury in one of his eight seasons with the Reds.
Appearances (starts)
26 (24)
4 (0)
Big chances created
6
1
Assists
0
0
Clean sheets
5
0
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.0
0.8
As you can see in the table above, Robertson – playing for the team at the top of the Premier League table – has also outperformed the soon-to-be Celtic man in the current campaign.
The Scottish star has started regularly for the best team in England, whilst Tierney has failed to break into the Arsenal XI, as well as enjoying a more successful career than his compatriot in the past.
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Therefore, Celtic must rue their decision to allow him to move on for nothing back in 2009 and it may be a lesson that they can learn from moving forward, by not cutting ties with promising young talents until they have had a decent chance to develop physically to showcase their true potential.