Napoli not part of Tierney tussle

Carlo Ancelotti is a fan of Kiernan Tierney but the Napoli boss says his side won’t be signing the defender this summer. The Serie A side were reported to be interested in £25million-rated Tierney but Ancelotti has ruled them out.

Arsenal are seemingly leading the pursuit of the Scotland international, the Gunners having already had multiple bids rejected by Celtic as the clubs struggle to agree on a valuation for the 22-year-old.

Ancelotti believes Tierney to be ‘a really good player’ but he won’t be signing him this summer. He replied “no”, when asked if he was targeting Tierney at a press conference following his side’s 3-0 pre-season win over Liverpool at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium on Sunday.

The former Real Madrid and Chelsea boss is, however, an admirer of the Hoops flying full-back. “Am I aware of Kieran Tierney?” Ancelotti said.

“I know him and he is a really good player. He is a really good young left back. But he is a Celtic player. “We are looking for a lot of players for this coming season, but he is a Celtic player and we have two good left backs. But honestly I can say he is a really good player.”

Napoli took advantage of defensive frailties to overcome European champions Liverpool 3-0 and their boss was pleased, with Italy forward Lorenzo Insigne coming for special praise having had a hand in all three goals.

“I am happy, but nothing more. It is still pre-season and there would be something wrong if we were ready now,” he added. “I thought (Lorenzo) Insigne played really well. Defensively we were good and we were dangerous on the counter attack.”