BRENDAN RODGERS admits that Celtic and Kieran Tierney may have a decision to make over the full-back’s future, with Everton set to submit a £25m bid.

The English Premier League club are in the market to replace veteran left-back Leighton Baines, who has been linked with a move to the MLS, and Tierney is the man who new Goodison Park boss Marco Silva wants.

After losing Stuart Armstrong to Southampton already this summer, the last thing that Rodgers wants is to lose arguably his prized possession, but he concedes that a move to England may well be in the best interests of the player in terms of his development and for his career, and that he would find it difficult to stand in Tierney’s way should such an opportunity arise.

“I’ve worked in the Premier League and I know the development he could have there,” Rodgers said. “That is always going to be the difficult one for Kieran because he genuinely is Celtic-daft. You see his passion and love, but football is a harsh business. That’s what it is.

“It’s a business where the career is very, very short and if he can go and earn four or five times the money he’s on at Celtic, then who am I to say not to do it.

“You look at the example of John Kennedy. An absolute star in the making, playing in a really good team at a young age and in his first international game he gets his leg shattered.

“That’s his football life done, really. He tried his socks off to get back, but his career was done. That’s the other side of it.

“It’s one where I want to develop Kieran the best I possibly can with the coaches and make him the best he can be, but there’s also a moral side to it as well and how can you deny a boy that?”

Rodgers believes that Tierney has all the attributes to thrive in England, and while he is sure that he would continue to develop as a player if he remains at Celtic, he thinks that a move down south would only help him to raise that bar even further.

“There’s no question he’s a really hungry player who will get better and better,” he said.

“To stay at Celtic would be brilliant for him and he will improve again. But I can’t deny that if he’s up playing at that level week-in and week-out that that wouldn’t improve him also and make him better.”

The fact that clubs in the English top flight are looking closely at Celtic players is proof positive of the coaching staff’s ability to develop talent according to Rodgers.

“If he leaves Celtic, he’ll only be going to a top-class club,” he said.

“Of course, I would want him to be here for as long as I am here, but my job is to maximise the talent and make and all of the players the best they can be.

“It’s also a great sign of where these players have gone to. You look at them and top clubs would want these players. In terms of development, it’s great for Kieran.”

Ultimately, Rodgers knows that while his player will place great stock in his advice, the decision of whether he leaves Celtic or not will be out of his hands, with money dictating whether or not the club agree to let him go, or indeed if Tierney himself wants to stay with the team he has supported all of his life.

“He’s happy and loves being at Celtic,” said Rodgers.

“He can only wait and, if at some point something concrete comes in, then he may along with the club have a decision to make and that’s what it’ll be.

“I’ll always give him advice, but, ultimately, it’ll then be down to him and the club.

“The most important thing is he loves it at Celtic, he’s playing and contributing at a very high level.

“He’s judged on a standard at Celtic which is very, very high and he’s coping with that, so, like I say, until something concrete comes in, I don’t have to think about.”