Everton’s reported decision to abandon signing Kieran Tierney could be a huge mistake

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Everton have reportedly called off their pursuit of Celtic’s Kieran Tierney.

Everton are still searching for a new left back, but the Liverpool Echo report that they have now abandoned their potential deal for Celtic’s Kieran Tierney due to the £25million asking price.

With Leighton Baines ageing, suffering injury problems and linked with a move away, Everton must find another left back this summer, especially as they have very little cover in the position.

A number of left backs have been linked with Everton this summer, but the strongest link of late has been with Celtic star Tierney, who looked to be the perfect target.

Now, allowing Ramiro Funes Mori and Wayne Rooney to leave were smart decisions, but backing away from a deal for Tierney over a £25million asking price may be the first big mistake of new director of football Marcel Brands.

Tierney, 21, has been starring for Celtic since breaking into the first team in 2015, and has established himself as one of the top young left backs in the world with consistent performances both defensively and going forward.

In the current transfer market, there are very, very few left backs available for £25million who not only possess Tierney’s quality right now, but also his potential to improve and truly become one of the best in his position.

There’s a certain level of concern about spending big money on players in Scotland, but Virgil van Dijk has shown that there are exceptions to that concern, whilst Tierney has also impressed in the Champions League and on the international stage, showing that he can step up to the challenge.

Speculation in April from The Sun (April 8th, Goals page 13) suggested that Everton wanted Aaron Cresswell from West Ham United for £25million, and if there is a similar asking price on Tierney’s head, what are the Toffees waiting for?

Left backs such as Benjamin Mendy, Luke Shaw, Ricardo Rodriguez and Theo Hernandez have all been signed for big money in recent times, and unless Everton feel that they can find a similar bargain to Liverpool star Andrew Robertson, then they will do well to find a left back better than Tierney for £25million – and this may be the lowest price Everton will see on his head given his huge potential, with Brands needing to pull off something special to justify backing way from the Celtic starlet.