I think it's a pretty bold move from Brands and Silva. We have seen from differing Celtic posters on here, as well other informed opinion elsewhere that Tierney is one of the best talents to come out of Scotland and Celtic in recent years. I wonder how concrete the Manchester United interest is, as a club they have moved on from looking to buy young players to develop to one of signing big name "galaticos". It's difficult to see Tierney fitting within that. Indeed it's difficult to see Mourinho wanting a 21 year old defender. It's not really been the way he operates where he looks for experienced defenders and I can't see Tierney fitting that.
The question then becomes why would he leave, why would he leave now and what sort of club would he consider/would be interested in him?
No doubt he would want a top club. One of the top 6. It's not easy to see them being massively interested at present. Maybe he's better than any other product out of Scotland, but there is still an element of risk there. I have little doubt he will go on to be a left back very capable of playing for them, but they may want to see him prove it and he may need a little time to adjust. Ultimately being in the top 6 as they are now, gives a level of funding, exposure and European credentials which mean, to be frank you don't need to take chances on players from leagues outside of the elite European leagues.
The exception may be Spurs, who with the potential loss of Danny Rose may sign someone with the profile of Tierney to back up Davies, however with their cost reduction due to a very expensive stadium and a more measly approach to transfers I just can't see them forking out upwards of 30 million to do so.
There are other teams them. Everton are certainly one of, if not the biggest of the rest. We have also been the most consistent, over the last 2 years, 5 years or 15 years of the rest of the league. With the financial backing available we now have the biggest ability to offer wages and in terms of places to live, Liverpool is probably most akin to Glasgow. Alongside all of this, we have employed a manager who likes developing young players and a DOF who makes youth development central to his approach. It would be a very big statement if he completed this signing.
I don't know if he would come, but if we could implement the sort of approach that we saw under Moyes of buying and developing younger players it would be an excellent fit.
For us it would be a big fee. Say what you want about the league but Celtic have produced a number of fine exports, as has the Scottish league. Yes some have flopped, but Robertson, McCarthy, McCarthur etc have all been solid pro's, while VVD and Wanyama are very strong in their position. He is in good company and may well go on to be a very good player. Likewise, he fits similar to what we did with Baines 10 years ago. The 6 million we paid then is around about 25 million pounds now. Nobody would say Baines hasn't provided excellent value.
If he were to come, I'd say he may move on for a tidy profit in 2-3 years time. Maybe that's how Brands will start to position Everton, as a next stop on the journey (similar to how PSV operate). Yes Celtic would want 50 million for him. I'm sure they'd want the 16 for Wanyama or the 75 for VVD however they will really struggle to get that from people buying directly from the SPL. The level of test is not sufficient to show someone's ability to perform to that level. They do well to buy players in, or bring them through, Rodgers has done very well, and they move them on for a very decent price.
As a final aside, Celtic and Rangers are massive clubs. Bigger than any other than Liverpool or Manchester United in this country (arguably bigger) and if they joined the PL, while they may struggle initially I'd anticipate they'd be challenging for and winning leagues within 10 years. Unfortunately they play in a league that is not as commercially viable as the Premier League. A massive TV deal doesn't alter the fanbase and history of Celtic and Rangers though. I'm far fonder of Celtic, but both are bigger than Everton irrespective of the league they play in.