Kieran Tierney Arsenal to Celtic transfer deal-breaker floated and it's not finances

Alan Hutton reckons Celtic could afford to bring Kieran Tierney back to Parkhead - but doubts it will happen.

Arsenal outcast Tierney, 27, is on the verge of returning from a five-month injury lay-off after suffering a serious hamstring injury for Scotland during the Euros. The left-back hasn't played for the Gunners in over a year after spending last season on loan with La Liga high-flyers Real Sociedad. It's unlikely Tierney will feature in Mikel Arteta's plans and it's widely expected the defender will leave the Emirates either on loan or permanently in January.

Tierney will always be linked with a return to his beloved Celtic Park and the Hoops academy graduate remains close with Brendan Rodgers. Celts already have two established players in his position, though, and unless Greg Taylor or Alex Valle depart in the winter window, the Scottish champions won't be in the market for a left-back.

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Whether or not Tierney pulls on the green-and-white hoops again remains to be seen. His eye-watering wages at Arsenal would of course be an issue, but Hutton believes cash-rich Celtic would be able to push the boat out and sign the homegrown talent they sold for £25million in 2019.

"I've always said that KT is one of the best players to have come out of Scotland, and at Celtic, he outgrew them at one stage", he told Best Betting Sites. "The big money move came, it was inevitable that it was going to happen. It just didn't quite work for him at Arsenal. I was gutted for him because I really thought he could kick on and be there for a long period of time.

"He's definitely got that mentality, the winning mentality that you need to be a world-class player. The question mark that's always going to be there is the injury side of it. It's a real shame. That's obviously a problem, and it didn't help him at Arsenal.

"Moving forward, I think if he is going to leave Arsenal, it has to be to a club where he's going to play regularly. First and foremost, stay fit and play regular football. At this moment in time, Celtic are linked, and I'm not so sure about that. They have got two left backs at the club.

"I think they could afford to take him, wages could be a problem, but if they can keep going in the Champions League, then they could probably find the finances to make a deal work. For him, mentally, it's about staying fit and playing regular football. If he can get back to that, there's no question he's an outstanding footballer.

"At 27, he's still got a lot to give, especially in the Premier League. He's more than capable of playing at that level for a sustained period of time, so it has to be where he's going to get minutes. He can't go to a team and not play. That's not going to be great for him, so if he can get a move like that, he can kick on again."