NEIL LENNON couldn’t confirm or deny if Kieran Tierney was heading to London last night or whether Celtic had a agreed a £25million transfer fee with Arsenal for the former Academy player.
We did though express his wish to re-invest as much of any transfer fee as possible in improving his Celtic squad who looked particularly weak down the left wing – an area of the park previously occupied by Tierney – and on a night when another left winger, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn turned up to cheer on the Hoops, as was mentioned in Sandman’s Definitive and unmissable Player Ratings last night – see HERE.
On a plane to Romania today I bumped into @CelticFC fans who invited me to join them watch their team play @CFR_1907_Cluj. So I did.@Oedouard22 impressed along with Celtic’s discipline and determination.
Great match and Celtic got a vital away goal to take into the second leg. pic.twitter.com/iousSvzoXd
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) August 7, 2019
The man who could be Prime Minister in the autumn was impressed by Celtic’s “discipline and determination” and reckoned that it was a good game with a decent result for the Hoops.
“Great match and Celtic got a vital away goal to take into the second leg.
Corbyn is just the latest politician to turn up at a Celtic away day in Europe this season – remember the President of Albania’s sing-song with some of the Troops in Sarajevo last month?
Back to Tierney, he will undergo his medical this morning ahead of the 5pm deadline for the English transfer window closing and if all goes well in that regard, he will sign a five year contract with Arsenal.
Celtic manager Neil Lennon and Scott Brown say Kieran Tierney will go with the best wishes of everyone at the club if he completes his move to Arsenal. https://t.co/jJ6avurA2b pic.twitter.com/y71IdBN5Xb
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) August 7, 2019
The Celtic manager speaking after the 1-1 draw with Cluj told BBC Radio Scotland that he’s hoping to see some of that cash.
“I hope so. There are a few areas I’d like to improve in.”
Speaking a little earlier, Lenny said: “I don’t know (if a deal has been agreed) but it wouldn’t surprise me. These things tend to take their course. I’ve not had any confirmation but, if he goes, then he goes with everybody’s best wishes. He’s a superb player and will be a big loss to us.
“It shows the work that people have done at the club, whether it be Brendan Rodgers, Ronny Deila or the people at the academy to produce such a fine player. He’s an outstanding young talent and a great kid.”
Scott Brown added: “Kieran’s a fantastic player. There’s always going to be interest in him. He will be a big miss.”
'This is a very sad night for #Celtic,' David Potter reacts to the Tierney Transfer @CelticStarMag https://t.co/BVkfBWbe44
— Celtic news now (@Celticnewsnow) August 7, 2019
Speaking about last night’s game the Celtic boss was pleased with the result.
“It’s a great result. The away goal is priceless for us. The guys will be a match fitter for it. You could see at the end some of them were starting to struggle with the heat. It’s been a tough game but a great night’s work and we’re looking forward to the second leg.
“I was delighted with our attacking play and we looked really dangerous early on.
“Maybe our final ball just let us down a little bit but I always felt we’d have the capability of scoring. They scored a great goal on the counter but our reaction was superb.” It bodes well for the second leg on Tuesday,” Lenny said.
A few factors to mention about last night. Lenny has mentioned the heat, well that’s not going to be a factor on Tuesday at Paradise. As we reported before the match, The Romanians didn’t water the pitch at all yesterday and had allowed their grass to grow to ‘Craig Levein’ levels to try to slow Celtic’s quick passing down. On Tuesday the park will be perfect for Celtic.
Here’s Neil Lennon’s post match interview with Celtic TV.
