Celtic

McGhee compares Celtic’s Tierney to England icon Pearce

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Mark McGhee believes Celtic teenager Kieran Tierney can become as iconic to Scotland as Stuart Pearce is to England.

Tierney, 19, has been integral to Celtic’s treble-winning campaign this season, and is now expected to be fit to face England on Saturday despite suffering an injury to his mouth in the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen.

Speaking to the Scottish Herald prior to the 2018 World Cup qualifier, Scotland assistant McGhee believes Tierney can go on to emulate Pearce as they possess similar levels of aggression.

“Kieran’s fearless,” said McGhee. “He has been throwing himself into challenges as usual. He trains the way he plays. Stuart Pearce is a great example of that. That blood on the face and head is Kieran.

“He might not intimidate people yet because they don’t know him well enough. But in time he will be a player who, simply by playing against him, players will be intimidated by.”

Tierney’s combative style saw him receive a huge blow to the mouth from Aberdeen’s Jayden Stockley that saw his teeth pierce his top lip at Hampden Park, forcing him off early as Celtic completed the treble late on with a 2-1 win.

Celtic’s number 63 has made 40 league and cup appearances for Brendan Rodgers’ side this season, helping the Hoops keep 16 clean sheets as well as having a hand in 14 goals.

Scoring twice against Inverness and Ross County, Tierney also laid on 12 assists and has attracted reported interest from England’s top flight ahead of the summer transfer window.

Tierney is now expected to start against Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions this weekend, as Gordon Strachan’s side look to dent England’s hopes of qualifying for the finals in Russia without suffering defeat.

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