Derek Rae has shared that when thriving Arsenal star, Kieran Tierney, was coming through at Celtic, he was told to ‘look out for him’ because he was an ‘unusually good talent’ for Scottish football.
Prior to signing on the dotted line at Arsenal in 2019, Tierney made a name for himself in Celtic colours, which included multiple trophies and a legacy that will last forever at Parkhead.
The boyhood Celtic fan has gone up a few more notches since leaving the Scottish Premiership for the English Premier League and he can be regarded as one of the best left-backs in Europe right now.
Whilst Scottish football is thriving right now on the international stage, with talent now rushing through, it wasn’t the case when Tierney was in Celtic colours.
Scottish commentator Rae explained that, as well as sharing what the Celtic coaches were telling him about the 24-year-old when he was a youngster, as he told the Highbury Squad Podcast.
“What I can say about KT and I know him as KT because when I was working for BT Sport and covering Scottish football,” said Rae. “One of the great things was that we have really good access to the players.
“As he was coming through, all the coaches at Celtic were telling me ‘we have got this young player, Kieran Tierney, look out for him’. I shook his hand when he was a very young player. It might have been just his second or third appearance. And he had only just started with Celtic.
“You could see early on that this was an unusually good talent for Scottish football, at that particular period. We hadn’t really been bringing through players of that calibre.
“It was just a matter of where he would end up, of course, he was a big Celtic guy and remains a big Celtic guy. Arsenal was a great club for him to go to.”
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It will be interesting to see, down the line, if Tierney returns to Celtic because it would be fitting if he does.
Of course, he is still making a name for himself in England’s top-flight and hoping to guide the Gunners into the Champions League.
But, when all is done at Arsenal, given Tierney’s connection with those at Parkhead, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him return one day.
In the meantime, like he did with the Bhoys, he wants to add multiple winner medals to his cabinet and help Arsenal get back on the trophy trail.
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