Transfer News: Manchester United leading 17-club chase for Celtic duo Kieran Tierney and Moussa Dembele

Manchester United are reportedly leading a 17-club chase for Celtic duo Kieran Tierney and Moussa Dembele.

According to The Mirror, Manchester United are leading a pack of seventeen Premier League clubs in the pursuit of Celtic duo Kieran Tierney and Moussa Dembele. The report states that as many as seventeen Premier League clubs had scouts in attendance during Celtic’s Champions League match against Bayern Munich.

While Moussa Dembele’s rise to prominence has been well documented, Kieran Tierney has captured every club’s imagination with every passing performance this season. That there are more rumours surrounding Tierney than Dembele is testament to how big a talent the left-back has become.

Tierney has managed to lock down a regular place in the national team setup as well for Scotland as the nation awaits a new boss after the departure of Gordon Strachan. The 20-year-old has fast become a household name on the lips of every Celtic faithful and after taking a look at his displays, it isn’t hard to see why.

Moussa Dembele, on the other hand, has had a quieter start to the 2017-18 campaign compared to the blitz last season, where he ended with 32 goals in 49 games. However, the displays have been consistent and there has been no loss of interest from the top European clubs.

Dembele reportedly had one foot in Chelsea’s locker room as he flew to England on deadline day. But, it was dismissed as just a rumour and a move failed to materialise. Both the players have formed pillars of Brendan Rodgers’ invincible Celtic campaign as the club set a European record for streak of unbeaten games among the top 5 European leagues.

Dembele’s deal is set to expire in 2020 while Tierney has only recently been tied down to a six-year deal that will keep him at Celtic till 2023. It is doubtful if either of them will stay and honour the entirety of their respective contracts, with the amount of interest their talents have been able to generate.

Manchester United, though, are leading the pack and with good reason. The duo will likely cost £50 million or upwards, an amount United would not hesitate in shelling out if it means securing the signatures of two of the most heavily pursued talents in Europe.

The pursuit of Tierney makes sense by every letter of the word. Jose Mourinho’s lack of faith in Luke Shaw has seen him field Ashley Young – a winger – and Daley Blind – predominantly a defensive midfielder – with Matteo Darmian – a right back – vying for the slot as well.

They are in urgent need of a left-back and Tierney with his matured performances for Celtic and Scotland has shown he is more than capable of taking over the mantle at a club as big as Manchester United on a regular basis. As far as Dembele goes, the move could be brought to question, given United’s current options in attack.

United have Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford with Zlatan Ibrahimovic set to return at the turn of the year. Dembele is a pure forward and his signing would only aggravate the situation surrounding Rashford’s inclusion.

While Tierney is a good target, it will be interesting to see if United does pursue Dembele with as rigorous an intent.