Kieran Tierney makes interesting Celtic return claim

A potential Kieran Tierney return to Celtic has been talked about for some time. Especially, when he started to struggle for playing time at Arsenal. The rumours increased last year before he sealed a loan move to Real Sociedad. With that now over, his future is again back in the spotlight and so is the speculation about a Parkhead comeback.

Arsenal are believed to want to see Tierney move on and reports suggest they want a transfer fee of around £10 million for him. The player has also now set a condition for any potential move back to Celtic and the timing for it.

Tierney of course has suffered a few injury issues in his time. His all-action playing style as a left-back perhaps adds to the strain. Given his ability to play at centre-back and Brendan Rodgers having experimented with that in the past, you have to wonder if he could be a replacement for Liam Scales more so than Greg Taylor.

But then we are back to the question of whether he will want to return in the first place. A lot has changed since he left in 2019, although the return of Rodgers as manager and the ongoing presence of John Kennedy in the coaching team could help. As reported by The Athletic, Tierney said:

"If I go back, I want to be feeling how I did there before. I’ll be a different player to what I was, as I’ve been away for years, but I wouldn’t want to go back if I wasn’t feeling 100 per cent in my body.

“I know the intensity and the demand to win so, if I go back, it will be when I’m still feeling good."

Kieran Tierney makes interesting Celtic return claim

So maybe Tierney is pointing out that he wouldn't want to return to Celtic later in his career when he is past his prime. As he is expected to be looking for a move away from Arsenal now, he’ll want to show that he is fit and capable of delivering top performances.

We’ll have to wait to see what develops over the summer. The time could be right for Tierney's return to Celtic Park.

He’d certainly bring quality, strength, experience and a strong competitive spirit to the squad. That could be a real plus for Rodgers and well worth the £10 million transfer fee Arsenal are believed to be asking for.