Revealed: Celtic ace tells inner circle he expects to be gone by Sunday after twist
By Wayne Veysey
Kieran Tierney has told his inner circle he expects to leave the club by the end of the week even though Celtic have rejected an improved bid from Arsenal, Football Insider has learned.
The Premier League giants have had a £25million offer knocked back by the Scottish treble winners on Friday because the structure of the deal does not include a high enough initial payment.
A Celtic source has told Football Insider that Arsenal are set to return to the negotiating table with another bid as they attempt to push the transfer to the finish line.
The Gunners are aware of strong interest from Napoli in Tierney and will not give up in their pursuit of Tierney despite the twist of the rejected bid and their own financial restrictions.
Arsenal manager Unai Emery has given his full backing to signing Tierney, a player he regards as one of great potential who can thrive in a flat back four or in a more advanced wing-back role.
Tierney believes it is time to move on from Celtic, where he has graduated from the academy to establish himself as one of the best players in Scotland.
He has already won five league titles among 11 major trophies at the club, and has four years remaining on the six-year contract he signed in 2017.
Manager Neil Lennon has gone some way to replacing Tierney by signing Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo earlier in the window.
In other Celtic news, it can be REVEALED that a player highly rated by Lennon is heading out of the club after completing a medical and agreeing a long-term contract with elite team.