Manchester United and Tottenham have been warned that Kieran Tierney would cost more than £20 million by former Celtic striker John Hartson.
Tierney has been instrumental in Celtic’s last two title-winning campaigns and has been tipped to follow the likes of Victor Wanyama and Virgil van Dijk in becoming a leading Premier League player after leaving Celtic Park.
United and Tottenham have reportedly been looking at Tierney as a solution to their left-back position, and the 20-year-old has also been linked with a £20m move to Bournemouth.
However, Hartson has laughed off that price tag and suggests that any offers for Tierney in that region would be quickly dismissed by Celtic.
“£20m from Bournemouth? Give me a break. I’m not having that. I wouldn’t be entertaining that for a second,” said Hartson in his Evening Times column.
“First things first. Celtic don’t want to sell and the boy doesn’t want to go. Second of all, how high he goes is entirely up to him.
“I won’t be the first person or last to say this but Kieran is a player who has the potential to go all the way to be the very top in the game – and I mean the very top. But only if he makes that call himself.
“There will always be offers on the table if you are playing as well as he is. That’s good for him, it shows just how much he is progressing and the fact that so many clubs are continually keeping tabs on him will tell you the esteem with which he is held.”
Hartson believes that it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Tierney stays with Celtic despite interest from the bigger clubs.
He added: “I know how happy and how settled he is at Celtic. Who is to say that he doesn’t buck the trend and decide to be a one-club man? It’s no-one else’s decision to make other than his.”
Tierney's attributes have also been compared to a former England international by Hartson, who said: “He reminds me very much of a young Stuart Pearce.
"He has everything; pace, athleticism, strength, he can cross, he can score, he can defend. Physically he has really worked since he first broke into the Celtic team to work on his stamina and on his strength, and he has got the rewards for that.”
