Kieran Tierney to Celtic return is ON as Hoops kickstart transfer talks with Arsenal to get him now
Celtic are ramping up their attempts to bring Kieran Tierney back to Parkhead THIS month - with the Arsenal defender keen on a return to his boyhood club.
The Scotland star is into the final six months of his contract at the Emirates and has been told that he can leave the club by boss Mikel Arteta. He missed the first three months of the season with a serious hamstring injury picked up on international duty with his country at Euro 2024, but has made just one solitary appearance for the Gunners in a Carabao Cup tie against Crystal Palace since his return to fitness.
Hoops fans have long dreamt of Tierney pulling on the green-and-white again, and transfer guru Fabrizio Romano now says the move is on, with Celtic now in direct talks with Arsenal over a potential deal - indicating they want him now rather than at the end of the season. Tierney would be able to rejoin the club on a free transfer in the summer, but with Greg Taylor out of contract in May and Alex Valle only on loan from Barcelona, Brendan Rodgers and the Parkhead hierarchy are set to push to land him now.
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Arteta's stance on Tierney has been somewhat confusing. The full back spent the whole of last season on loan at Real Sociedad in La Liga, where he also got a taste of Champions League football. After the defender's return to action for Arsenal, the Spaniard praised the 27-year-old's resilience to come back from another injury setback and hinted that he would still have a big part to play for the club moving forward.
Speaking after the cup victory against Palace last month, Arteta said: He said: “At the moment he’s here with us. I wouldn’t play a player that is thinking about leaving or is not committed to us, so he’s fully committed.
"He’s enjoying playing after a long period again with a really tough injury, so live the moment. He’s a big part of the squad now. He deserves to be in the squad and played really well after such a long time, so that’s the only thing I can say.”