Neil Lennon was left in the dark over the imminent sale of Kieran Tierney to Arsenal.
In the closing stages of a 1-1 draw with Cluj dozens of media outlets ran with the story that Peter Lawwell had agreed a £25m deal with Arsenal.
The performance of Boli Bolingoli- who looks like a wing-back trying to adapt to playing as a full-back- was concerning during the draw with the Romanian champions highlighting further the importance of Tierney to this Celtic side.
Lennon has always anticipated a late bid from Arsenal, without being kept in the loop the deal was completed at Celtic’s end with Lawwell attempting to bury the bad news during a critical European tie.
Asked if he knew anything about the breaking news Lennon told Radio Scotland:
I don’t. No. Like I said over the last few days these things wouldn’t surprise me, these things naturally take their course, I’ve not had any confirmation of that at all.
Tierney is expected to undergo a medical at Arsenal tomorrow as Celtic count up a £12m transfer surplus with just under four weeks left.
With half a dozen first team players leaving since the end of last season plus a £9m fee from Leicester and greatly reduced managerial salary all eyes will be on the Celtic boardroom to see if their ambitions come close to competing with the champions of Greece, Romania and the Czech Republic.
