Kieran Tierney tips forgotten Celtic player to shine vs Rangers

Celtic are heading into potentially the most important game of this Premiership campaign. Despite their shaky form, it is all still in their hands. That won't be the case anymore though, if they lose against the Rangers at Ibrox this weekend. In that scenario, they would be left depending on other teams' results. One cannot understate the importance of the upcoming fixture.

Kieran Tierney is someone who has played in his fair share of Glasgow Derbies. Of course, it has been a long time since he left Celtic in order to join Arsenal, in what was a Scottish record £25 million move in the summer of 2019.

Tierney is a Celtic fan though and continues to follow the club he grew up supporting. And it appears to believe that one of his former teammates could do a job at Ibrox, even though he has not been a key figure for the Hoops in the last few years.

The player in question is none other than James Forrest. As reported by The Scottish Sun, Tierney said ahead of the Glasgow Derby:

"Every time James has been called on recently he’s stepped up and scored important goals.

“He’s not a regular starter but he’s still got plenty to offer.

“I’ve no doubts James can do a job at Ibrox in whatever role he’s asked to deliver, even if it’s just from the bench.

“But his presence around the club is priceless anyway, especially with players coming into Celtic. Callum’s the same.

“James has seen it and done it, he’s lived with the pressure of being a Celtic player for almost 15 years."

Tierney tips forgotten Celtic player to shine vs Rangers

Forrest is the most experienced player in the current Celtic player. Once one of the club's most important players and a regular starter, he has not featured much over the last few years.

Forrest started to deal with constant injury problems in the 2020/21 campaign and since then, he has never really found his way back into the club's first-team plans. These days, he mostly plays the role of an impact substitute if that.

According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has made 21 appearances and played 462 minutes of football this season, scoring 3 goals and providing an assist. Out of those, only three were starts and the rest off the bench.