KIERAN TIERNEY made his return to football last night as Project Restart began in England. Tierney left Celtic last summer and it was expected that he would take to the English Premier League as easily as he adapted to the first team with the Scottish Champions as just a teenager.
Tierney left for a hefty £25m making him the most expensive Scottish player when Arsenal signed the left back as Unai Emery began to prepare for an tilt at the title; however, Tierney made just 12 appearances before a shoulder injured threatened to end his season.
Tierney has opened up about his six month lay off when speaking to Arsenal TV after the 3-0 defeat against Manchester City as the Premier League resumed following the Coronavirus pandemic forcing a three month shutdown.
“I felt good. I felt as fit as I could be this time.
“Matches are going to get me match fit and I’ve done all I could possible to get fit for the match.
“The manager’s trusted me to put me in and I’m very grateful.
“It’s been a long six months and a hard six months but I’ve got there in the end.
“I’m just happy to get some minutes in the game.”
Arsenal were torn to shreds and Tierney was a bright spark but was exposed when moved into central defence after Luiz was sent off. The 23-year-old has been linked with a reunion with Brendan Rodgers at Leicester, should Mikel Arteta look to reinvest the fee for Tierney elsewhere. This is worrying for Celtic as they have a sell-on clause, as well as performance based bonus tied into Tierney’s sale.
In any case, it is good to see Tierney return to action and hopefully he will be able to showcase his talents in the Premier League, as he did in Scotland for four years.