Homecomings aren’t always a wise idea, yet Kieran Tierney has been immense since returning to Celtic last summer, already recording ten Premiership assists in that time.
The 29-year-old notably teed up Benjamin Nygren on the opening weekend of 2026/27, prior to picking out Camilo Duran last time out with an exquisite, driven cross.
The only issue, of course, is the Scot’s fitness woes, with it almost having been a case of the walking wounded away in Linz, with Tierney, Cameron Carter-Vickers and co all hobbling off in that 5-1 drubbing.
With Liam Scales currently the only real alternative at left-back, a fresh face is needed before Thursday’s deadline – might that player be Chelsea’s Landon Emenalo?
The concern surrounding Celtic’s pursuit of Emenalo
The mind still boggles at the decision not to secure what felt like a tap-in transfer with regard to Marcelo Saracchi, the 28-year-old having been keen to stay and available for a knockdown price of less than £2m.
Alas, that ship has sailed, with the Hoops instead turning their attention toward Chelsea teenager, Emenalo, alongside their parallel pursuit of his Cobham colleague, Shim Mheuka.
In Mheuka’s case, the free-scoring striker has already made nine competitive appearances for the west London side at first-team level, although despite featuring in pre-season, Emenalo’s debut Blues bow has yet to arrive.
He looks like a real talent, undoubtedly, but Celtic have been stung recently when snapping up Premier League stars with little senior experience behind them, namely Benjamin Arthur and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey.
With that latter example, Simpson-Pusey arrived undercooked from Manchester City and simply never really recovered, ultimately seeing his loan stint cut short in January after making just two appearances in green and white.
The fear will be that Emenalo suffers a similar fate, the 18-year-old having suffered a knock in training, hence the delay to this deal, after he was pictured at Lennoxtown.
As the trip to Austria showcased, there’s an immediate need for someone to cover Tierney, with O’Neill and co unable to afford another loan signing that might take time to get up to speed.
Could it be worth considering an alternative over the coming hours instead?
Celtic have made move to sign Premier League left-back
The fact it has taken this long to find a suitable replacement for Saracchi doesn’t exactly reflect well on the Parkhead hierarchy, with even captain Callum McGregor pointing to the use of Scales at left-back as a concern in the wake of last week’s Champions League heartbreak.
Emenalo, born in Arizona yet a regular at England youth level, looks like the leading pick, yet the fact that a deal hasn’t been agreed as yet might have alarm bells ringing.
One potential alternative or upgrade that could be on the table is Manchester United’s Harry Amass, The Athletic reporting that Celtic are one of a number of clubs to have expressed interest in the 19-year-old, suggesting negotiations have been held.
The Red Devils had been demanding a £6m fee, although were open to a loan exit heading into the final hours of Tuesday’s Premier League transfer deadline, before deciding to keep hold of the teenager.
The expectation is that Amass will stay put to provide cover for Luke Shaw, but Celtic would be wise to make a fresh attempt of their own, with Michael Carrick’s side boasting the likes of Patrick Dorgu, Noussair Mazraoui and Lisandro Martinez to cover at left-back instead.
The youngster is yet to nail down a first-team role in Manchester, but he’s certainly highly rated, previously tipped by the aforementioned Shaw to be a player to look out for.
Unlike Emenalo too, it’s not as if Amass hasn’t enjoyed a taste of senior action over the last 12 months or so, having made his debut for United under Ruben Amorim at the tail-end of the 2024/25 season.
He’s made seven first-team outings to date in Manchester, while having also shone on loan at Sheffield Wednesday in the first half of last season, proving a real bright spark in a difficult spell for the then-Championship side.
In 21 appearances for the Owls, he scored and assisted two goals, doing enough to warrant a subsequent loan switch to playoff hopefuls Norwich City in January.
Amass – 25/26 Championship Stats | |
|---|---|
Stat (*per game) | Record |
Games (starts) | 22 (21) |
Goals & Assists | 2 |
Big chances created | 2 |
Key passes* | 0.5 |
Pass accuracy* | 79% |
Succ. dribbles* | 1.5 |
Ball lost* | 15.6 |
Tackles & interceptions* | 4.2 |
Ball recoveries* | 6.5 |
Errors made | 0 |
Injury ended that spell at Carrow Road before it had even begun, yet Amass had shown enough at Hillsborough to be encouraged by, remarkably boasting an average of 1.5 successful dribbles per game, a fine return for a full-back.
The rampaging left-footer also registered a goal and assist this summer in Man United’s 5-0 win over Rosenborg, with there certainly a Tierney-esque quality to his game as someone who always seeks to get forward, while boasting the end product to match.
He’s only a year or so older than Chelsea’s Emenalo, yet there’s far more evidence for Celtic to look at and be encouraged, suggesting that making a new move for Amass would be a worthy pursuit.
With only a year left to run on his deal, albeit with United holding a plus-one extension, maybe now is the time to strike.
