Kieran Tierney has impressed Deila since day one

Celtic manager Ronny Deila has come out and said Kieran Tierney caught his eye from day one.

The 18-year-old broke into the Celtic squad last year and has started two games this year, most recently in the Europa League against Fenerbahce.

Plying his trade at left-back, Tierney has shown a lot of maturity for his age to come into the Celtic team in the most ruthless area of the pitch and perform.

In attack, young players can go out with no fear and showcase their talent, whereas a young defender has the constant task of being faultless – or be punished ruthlessly by a striker for any slip-up.

Breaking into the first-team and showing a level of maturity beyond his years, bodes well for Celtic and Tierney in the future.

Deila gave credit to the left-back and spoke about the teenager, as quoted by the Glasgow Evening Times.

I saw that Kieran was a good player from the very first day I watched him. He is a big talent and has shown in training and in the matches he’s played in so far that he can operate at the highest level.

I had no hesitation in playing him against Fenerbahce. There was not a single thought in my mind about not using Kieran. He showed me what I wanted to see and this is the start of a young man’s career as a Celtic player, take that from me.

He does not look as if he’s just 18. That is why he played in such an important European match. He thinks and plays like a 25-year-old. This is how we want more youngsters who come through to play.

Tierney has flourished in the development squad and is growing into the role as a first-team regular for Celtic in the near future.

He impresses the fans and most importantly the manager more and more with each chance he gets in the team.