Andy Robertson transfer boost as potential next club told to drop left-back

Kieran Tierney was substituted with 14 minutes remaining in Celtic's 2-1 win against Dundee last weekend — and pundit Ian McCall believes the left-back should be dropped for the title run-in

Andy Robertson could leave Liverpool this summer(Image: Getty Images)

Celtic has been urged to bench left-back Kieran Tierney and give Marcelo Saracchi a run in the side during the crucial title run-in.

The request is interesting from a Liverpool perspective, as Andy Robertson is being linked with a move to Celtic. The Reds left-back is out of contract in the summer and has previously expressed his desire to play for Celtic one day, the club he supported as a child.

Tierney's presence in Glasgow could make it difficult for Robertson to secure a move to Celtic, but the situation may change if the former Arsenal man is dropped toward the end of this season. Former Partick Thistle and Dundee United manager Ian McCall believes Tierney is showing increasing signs of fatigue and should be benched.

The left-back has accumulated 45 appearances across all competitions this season following his return to his hometown club from Arsenal last summer — the highest tally he has managed since the 2017-18 campaign during his initial stint at Parkhead.

Despite this, Tierney has only gone the full 90 minutes on 13 occasions, and was substituted for Boca Juniors loanee Saracchi with 14 minutes left on the clock in last Sunday's 2-1 victory at Dundee, a result that closed the gap on league leaders Hearts to just three points for Martin O'Neill's side.

With only six fixtures remaining, McCall is convinced that weariness is beginning to take its toll on Tierney and believes the traveling Celtic faithful shared that sentiment. Speaking on 'Open Goal,' he said: "It's a horrible thing. I think he should be playing left-back ahead of Kieran Tierney just now.

Kieran Tierney was benched by Celtic(Image: Getty Images)

"Kieran Tierney just looks tired. The bottom line is, look how much he's played over the last four years. I thought the Celtic supporters were giving Saracchi a cheer when he came on when Tierney got taken off. We all know Tierney is top-notch when he's fit, but right at this minute, for these six games, Saracchi looks like he has more energy and more about him. I'd maybe think about him."

Only last week, Tierney responded to those questioning whether he remains the same talent who departed Celtic for Hearts almost seven years ago. "People are always going to do it, and they still say it today", he told the club's media channel.

"There's nothing you can do apart from work hard. And I'm just so grateful because the club, one of the reasons I came back is because I know the club so well and they know me, and they probably knew that I was going to need a bit of time.

"So the club never put pressure on me at the start to play three games a week, three 90 minutes a week. It was a slow buildup, and that was always the plan. So in my head at the time, I was like, Oh, maybe I would like to play more and longer and be fitter and be stronger, but I knew it was a process."

Robertson, meanwhile, has not decided on whether to leave Liverpool this summer. Yet he is out of contract and has struggled to get ahead of Milos Kerkez in the pecking order this season.

Roberton told the 'Currie Club Podcast' in 2022: "Every time I watch Celtic, I consider it (joining the team). When you watch them and see a packed Celtic Park, as a fan, you always have that dream. Ideally, I want to finish my career here at Liverpool.

If I can stay at the top of my game, at the top of the tree my whole career, that’s the route I want to go down. But also, when I look at Celtic, and when I was growing up, I was thinking I wanted to give them my best years.

"When I was at Queen’s Park, I had a dream of still playing with Celtic and always dreamed of giving my best years to Celtic. And now I don’t want to go as a 34 or 35-year-old old guy that my uncles start hating on me because I can’t move anymore! Time will tell. I’m very much a person who lives in the moment. I don’t look too far ahead, and I don’t often look back. There will be a time for that."