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Arsenal slammed for pursuit of Celtic ace Kieran Tierney: Virgil van Dijk comparison made
ARSENAL have come under fire over their opening bid for Celtic defender Kieran Tierney with the Scottish club being warned about falling victim to another Virgil van Dijk transfer.
Arsenal: Pundit compares Tierney bid to Van Dijk transfer
Arsenal made an opening bid of £15million for Kieran Tierney in a move which has been slammed by Celtic legend Chris Sutton.
Sutton, who won four Scottish league titles with the Hoops, insists Tierney should be “insulted” with the Gunners’ opening bid for him.
The former Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers striker has warned Celtic not to allow another talented defender to leave Parkhead in scenes reminiscent of Virgil van Dijk being allowed to leave for £13m in 2015.
Two years later the Dutch international was sold by Southampton to Liverpool for £75m.
Kieran Tierney should be insulted by Arsenal’s bids for him
“Kieran Tierney should be insulted by Arsenal’s bids for him,” Sutton said in the Daily Record.
“Celtic and Scottish football should also be seeing disrespect in what the Gunners are offering.
“Yet again I’m having the same argument I’ve been having year-on-year since Virgil van Dijk was inexplicably allowed to leave Celtic for a fee of £13million in the summer of 2015.
“Nothing has changed. English clubs believed then they could get away with transfer market murder and they still do.
Arsenal: Celtic willing to ‘cash in’ on Tierney reveals pundit
“Fair enough all clubs start low in a bidding process but £15m for Tierney smacks of disgusting contempt. Not just for Celtic and Scottish football but for the boy.”
Sutton questions how much Arsenal rate Tierney given their opening bid, when comparing it to other transfers in the Premier League for full-backs.
“If I were Tierney I would be wondering if they really rated me at all given the figures which are flying around south of the border,” he added.
“Manchester United are paying £55m to land Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace. Leicester are looking to get about £70m for Ben Chilwell if he goes.
“Both of those boys have had roughly one good season each in the English Premier League and that’s the fees?”
Arsenal boss Unai Emery saw the £15m bid rejected and is reportedly ready to come back with an improved offer of £19m, but that is still significantly short of Celtic’s £25m valuation of the defender.
Kieran Tierney: It's time for him to leave Celtic says pundit
Emery finds himself having to work within a limited transfer budget this summer, believed to be £45m, and the Spaniard is wary of spending over half his budget on one player when he wants to strengthen several areas of his squad.
But that isn’t good enough for Sutton who feels such a low valuation of Tierney is a making a mockery of football in Scotland.
“Whatever way you look at it and however you see the level of the Scottish league, it’s nigh-on impossible to get to a final figure of £15m,” Sutton said.
“It’s mocking Scottish football. It’s scornful to Celtic and disrespectful to the player.
“There is a halfway house here. Arsenal think they can get Tierney for around £20m. Wan Bissaka has gone for £50m.
“That means the meet in the middle figure should be at the £35m mark.”