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Kieran Tierney set for Arsenal exit audition in time for January window amid Celtic return hopes
Kieran Tierney is in line to make his Arsenal return next month.
The former Celtic star is still injured after suffering a hamstring injury during Scotland's doomed Euro 2024 campaign in Germany, but would have likely been sat in the stand anyway given his bomb squad status under Mikel Arteta, after spending last season on loan at Real Sociedad. A summer departure could have been on the cards but for that injury, and there remains hope among Celtic fans that a deal could be done that would see him return to Parkhead, even on loan.
Tierney could be set to make his return to action in the Carabao Cup. Arsenal have been drawn with Crystal Palace after beating Preston and will host their fellow Londoners in the quarter-finals on December 18. Following the current international break, Arsenal are set to play 12 games in just over a month and Arteta admitted that the former Hoops favourite could be in line for some minutes as he tries to give his fringe men some game time to cope with a hectic winter schedule.
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"I think he's quite close," Arteta said. "He's looking really good. I think he's over the period where he was still struggling, so he looks really sharp out there. He hasn't trained with the team yet but hopefully, he can do that in the next week or two."
That could see Tierney back in action just in time for the January transfer window. With his current contract still having 18 months to run by then and hefty wages to meet, a permanent deal could prove tricky. However, another loan may be on the cards in order for Tuerney to play regularly, and that could put Celtic on alert.
Greg Taylor will leave on a free next summer as things stand, while Brendan Rodgers claimed he wasn't aware of rumours that Barcelona want to end Alex Valle's loan spell early and bring him back in January.
If the numbers work, then a temporary return for Tierney to bolster a position Celtic need reinforcing and offering the player Champions League football would make sense for all parties.
