Tierney was finally paraded by the Hoops last week after completing a sensational return from Arsenal
12:40, 17 Jun 2025Updated 12:50, 17 Jun 2025
Kieran Tierney is back at Celtic
Kieran Tierney is back at Celtic(Image: PA)
Erik Sviatchenko reckons Kieran Tierney is a captain-in-waiting at Celtic.
Homegrown hero KT completed an emotional return to Parkhead last week.
The £25million defender rejoined his beloved club on a free after six years at Arsenal.
Sviatchenko was at the Hoops just when Tierney had first burst onto the scene.
The pair have kept in touch ever since and a recent text exchange cemented Sviatchenko's view that the fans' favourite is back where he belongs.
In an exclusive interview with Record Sport , he said: "I was actually surprised that it has been six years since he left Celtic.
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"He has done well, but he's just been staggered with injury.
"I don't know how many games he's played for Arsenal. But if you look at the numbers, it should have been like 350 games.
"I think the step for Kieran right now is incredible. I texted with him and he said, 'I'm ready to go home'.
"He's done well in the Premier League and now he's ready to come home and be that next generation of Celtic legends.
"He has the potential. He already is a legend in growth. And the fans adore him.
"You always knew what you would get from him, 100 per cent, but still a lot of great qualities on the ball.
Kieran Tierney with Erik Sviatchenko
Kieran Tierney with Erik Sviatchenko(Image: SNS Group)
"Technical-wise, he can play as a left-back, he can play as a centre-back, he can play in the three-back line. He's a utility player in that sense.
"And then one day when Callum McGregor decides it's time to retire, there is a captain on that line for Kieran Tierney. That's kind of the script, I would say."
A lifelong supporter, Tierney bleeds green and white.
The left-back wears his heart on his sleeve but Sviatchenko always knew he was a special talent.
The Invincible Treble-winner said: "You know, it's always a balance. People always have this perception of these players who grow up in a club.
"I think it's more like a professional way of being a football player and just with a lot of heart.
"It's not like you would have this young boy running around like, 'I'm so happy for everything.'
"It's still a job that he's performing. It's a pressured job. But he was very mature from an early age.
"He would sit with more experienced guys. He would feed off that energy. He was good with the young guys. He was good with Scott Brown and all these guys.
"So he was taken under those wings and I think it helped him grow a lot also as a player. Brendan Rodgers gave him a lot of responsibility too, very, very early on."
While it was Ronny Deila who handed Tierney his big breakthrough, Rodgers elevated the Scotland star's game to another level.
The duo have now been reunited but Sviatchenko believes Tierney would have re-signed no matter who was at the helm.
The former centre-back said: "This is a bit bold to say, but regardless of the manager, I think those moves don't always come around where you're ready to go home.
"I had the same with Midtjylland when I was going back. You never really know when the time is right.
"I ended up going home for initially a loan of six months, but then I just fell in love with my old club again.
"I was not ready to go back and be kind of third wheel at Celtic. So I thought, like, now I'm going to sign. And then I ended up staying six years with incredible success, another Champions League group stage.
"So I think in Kieran's mind, if I would put myself into that, it's kind of, 'Okay, I'm going home. The moment is right.'
"And then on top of that, you have a manager that knows you. Okay, what's not to like? It was a no-brainer, I would say."
Brendan Rodgers and Kieran Tierney
Brendan Rodgers and Kieran Tierney(Image: PA)
It's almost a decade since Sviatchenko joined Celtic. The Dane crammed a lot into his two-and-a-half years in Glasgow, winning five major honours including an unbeaten clean sweep.
A hugely popular figure with the support, Sviatchenko's time was cut short after falling out of favour in Rodgers' second term.
He returned to FC Midtjylland and skippered the club to two Danish Superliga titles and memorable European campaigns.
Now living the American Dream with Houston Dynamo in the MLS, Sviatchenko has been blown away by the amount of silverware James Forrest and McGregor have won.
And the 33-year-old admits he wishes he had more chapters to write in his own Celtic story.
He added: "Imagine I had gone back and had the pre-season with Celtic and who knows? Some months later, then Neil Lennon came in.
"Who knows what would have happened? Would I have been a player who had played 350 games, 400 games for Celtic? Who knows?
"But I just say, like, from their perspective, I understand why they want to stay because you get so hungry.
"People can ask what more can you win? You still want to win more, but you never get tired of winning.
"I've won 12 trophies. Imagine winning another one. That's my goal. That's my dream. And then winning 28 and 25, it's incredible.
"You never get tired of winning. And then at a club where you're just getting that much praise and that much love, it's kind of next level.
"There are no places like Celtic. There are maybe five clubs in the world that can give you that, and Celtic is one of them.
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"And I miss it every day, even though it's been a decade ago. I miss it every day.
"Even my wife and I talk about, 'Hey, we need to go back to Glasgow and visit all the areas we loved.' It's an emotional place because it meant so much to you as a player."
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