‘Off the pace’: 26-year-old’s latest performance is slammed after missing out on Newcastle transfer

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Just weeks after missing out on a move to Newcastle United, Kieran Tierney suffered a night to forget in a Scotland shirt.

He started against England on Tuesday night, with Gareth Southgate’s side running out 3-1 winners at Hampden Park thanks to a midfield masterclass from Jude Bellingham. We also saw Kieran Trippier produce a solid display at left-back.

That was a position Eddie Howe looked to strengthen in at Newcastle this summer, with Lewis Hall eventually arriving on loan from Chelsea.

But before Hall, the Magpies were trying to sign Tierney. He was ‘expected’ to join Newcastle earlier in the window, and Howe would later step up his interest as looked to tempt Arsenal into loaning the defender to Tyneside.

In the end, Tierney did leave Arsenal on loan, but not for Newcastle. Instead, he joined Real Sociedad on a temporary deal while Newcastle snapped up Hall.

While Tierney would likely have made more of an immediate impression, Newcastle looked to the future and invested in the 19-year-old with a lot of potential – and a young man who has actually just been training with the England senior side.

As for Tierney, he had the chance to show Newcastle what they were missing on Tuesday night, but it was an opportunity he squandered.

Kieran Tierney seriously struggles against England

The 26-year-old played as the left centre-back in Steve Clarke’s back five, and really struggled to have a positive impact on the game.

That was the view of the Scotsman, who gave Tierney’s performance a score of 5/10.

They stated that the Scotland defence ‘struggled‘ against England, while the Telegraph were more scathing. Their report described Scotland’s defending as ‘chaotic‘, with Tierney getting another 5/10 rating.

The Guardian were the most brutal, describing Tierney as ‘off the pace‘. They gave the Scot a 4/10, admitting that he ‘lost track of his runners and made no impact in possession’.

While it is only one performance, Tierney failed to show why Newcastle made a mistake on Tuesday night. His performance for Scotland was poor, but he was not the only player in blue who struggled against England.

It is clearly going to take Tierney time to get back to his best, which hopefully he does. However, it will not happen in a Newcastle shirt, with the Magpies setting themselves up for years to come by bringing in Hall instead.