Given the recriminations and protests that have followed Celtic’s botched recruitment over the summer, it’s easy to forget there was actually a lot of positivity among fans heading into the transfer window.
Going as far back as January, it became one of the worst-kept secrets in football that Kieran Tierney would be leaving Arsenal and heading home to Parkhead.
The return of the prodigal son was met with an outpouring of joy among the Celtic support. Beyond the obvious sense of romance and sentiment, it was to be a statement of intent and a marquee signing.
Viewed as a major upgrade on Greg Taylor, who departed for PAOK in Greece, he was supposed to be the first of several major signings who would help Brendan Rodgers build on last season.
Not only did those other big-money arrivals fail to materialise, the acquisition of Tierney is now coming under the microscope.
We are now nearly two months into the new season and he continues to look a shadow of his former self. Even accounting for some chronic injury problems, how long does a player need to get up to full speed?
Kieran Tierney looks like a shadow of the player who left Celtic for Arsenal in 2019
Tierney has only completed 90 minutes this season, and that was against Partick Thistle
Brendan Rodgers commiserates with Tierney as he goes off injured against St Mirren
After the 0-0 draw with Rangers at Ibrox in August, Rodgers gave Tierney a gentle nudge and made it clear that his physical condition would have to improve.
In the 4-0 victory over Partick Thistle at Firhill in the Premier Sports Cup last weekend, the Scotland full-back finally completed 90 minutes for the first time since moving back to Glasgow in the summer.
‘Psychologically, I felt it was important for him,’ said Rodgers last Sunday. ‘He hasn’t played 90 in a long, long time. But for him just to push himself to get over the hill is very important.
‘Kieran has gone through a lot, not just physically but mentally. It was important we gave him that time (to get fully fit).
‘There’s a stress on a player that you can never understand, unless you’ve had really bad injuries and what that does to you, what it makes you think about whenever you’re pushing yourself.
‘When you’re young and fresh and haven’t got many injuries, then you’re just free and you’re 100 per cent. When you’ve been out for maybe periods of time, it can psychologically hurt you. But he’s getting over all that and every day getting better and improving.’
After Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Red Star Belgrade, however, even the most ardent Celtic fan would have struggled to argue that Tierney had built on last weekend’s display.
He was caught out of position on a couple of occasions, lost his man in other moments, and looked like he was toiling physically.
Celtic full back Tierney wasn’t at his best in 1-1 draw with Red Star Belgrade this week
Another worrying moment for Tierney has he winces in pain during Old Firm derby
Replaced again, it means he has completed 90 minutes in only one of the nine matches in which he has featured so far this season.
There was a moment in Belgrade when Tierney went down and winced, seemingly fearful that he had tweaked something or picked up another injury.
In the end, he got himself back to his feet and soldiered on. But it was emblematic of the sense of apprehension that now surrounds him.
Having endured all kinds of injury problems over the years, on a physical level it feels like Tierney is an accident waiting to happen at the moment.
It’s almost like Rodgers is having to micro-manage his game time to such an extent that the primary focus is just making sure Tierney doesn’t break down again.
Listen, nobody doubts how good he was. In his pomp, when he left Celtic to join Arsenal for £25million in 2019, he could lay a legitimate claim to being one of the best left-backs in Europe.
Tough as old boots, strong in the tackle, a natural leader, defensively sound, good pace, and with good delivery from out wide, he had all the attributes you could wish for in a full-back.
He was an outstanding footballer. But ‘was’ is the key word. Everything with Tierney feels a bit past tense at the moment, comparing him to the player he *used* to be.
Kieran Tierney feels the anguish during Celtic’s ill-fated play-off with Kairat Almaty
Celtic fans hold their breath as Kierney goes down injured, this time against Aberdeen
The reality is that we probably won’t ever see that player again. Injuries have taken a heavy toll, none more so than the hamstring injury he suffered in Euro 2024 with Scotland.
This is a problem for Celtic. They have made a significant investment in Tierney. They made him the highest paid player in Scotland, with wages just shy of £50,000 per week, and handed him a five-year deal.
Celtic can’t afford to be carrying any passengers, let alone one who happens to be the highest paid player in the country.
Tierney took a hefty wage cut when he left Arsenal, where his wages were in excess of £100,000 per week. He effectively agreed to a 50-per-cent cut in order to return to his boyhood club.
Even so, the fact remains he’s still Celtic top earner. It’s an awkward truth that is now becoming unavoidable; Tierney is not offering Celtic value for money.
When you strip it back, Celtic have signed an injury-prone left-back with no re-sale value at 28 years old. They are paying him close to £50k per week and have given him a five-year deal.
If it wasn’t for the fact his name was Kieran Tierney, how on earth would a deal like that make any kind of sense?
At the moment, he is not an upgrade on Taylor. Celtic fans are always up in arms about this. A lot of them castigated Taylor for years, through no fault of his own, purely on the basis that he wasn’t a prime Kieran Tierney.
But the reality was that Taylor developed into an extremely consistent and important member of the Celtic squad.
Knowing that Tierney was injury-prone and liable to miss large chunks of the season, the club should have done more to keep Taylor.
But that’s all by the by. For the time being, the jury remains very much out on whether Tierney 2.0 will be a success at Celtic or a costly mistake.
