Neil Lennon has suggested Celtic aren’t going to be pushed around in negotiations for Kieran Tierney, making a worrying reference to the transfer of Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Speaking to the media in quotes reported by the BBC, Lennon suggested that Celtic wouldn’t be forced to sell for less than Tierney’s actual value, suggesting Wan-Bissaka’s transfer to Manchester United should act as a benchmark.

“£50m for Wan-Bissaka is a lot of money and we feel that Kieran is a far more experienced and rounded full-back at this juncture in his career,” Lennon said. “He’s an asset for us and we do have a value for the player and we rate the player very highly.

“So ‘disrespectful’ is the wrong word but we’re certainly not going to be pushed over in any negotiations and we’re in a very strong position with regards to a number of our assets in the team.

“The club’s valuation of Kieran has not been met and until then we don’t have a discussion.”

Being realistic, there’s no chance Celtic are going to get anywhere near £50m for Tierney from anyone.

The reason Wan-Bissaka commanded that kind of fee is that he has Premier League experience and Manchester United were the buying club. Everyone knows how much money United have, so everyone asks for a large cut of that money in return for their players.

Celtic have never received more than £20m for a transfer, and the SPL just isn’t a very prestigious league by comparison to any of the top five in Europe.

Additionally, Tierney has been suffering from injury problems this year, whilst Wan-Bissaka stayed perfectly healthy. That affects value too.

It’s clear Lennon is just trying to get Celtic as much money as possible. An extra £5m in the bank means a lot more to them than a Premier League club, and as Lennon says, Tierney is a valuable asset to them.

Arsenal are expected to come back with a third bid in the near future.