Celtic are close to agreeing pre-contract terms with Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney.
The 27-year-old, who has entered the last six months of his Arsenal contract, has been in talks over a return to Glasgow in the summer.
The Hoops are also expected to explore the possibility of taking Tierney on loan until the end of the season, especially if they qualify for the Champions League knockout rounds.
Tierney has been told that he can leave the north London club by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.
He missed the first three months of the season with a serious hamstring injury picked up while playing for Scotland at Euro 2024 and has made just two appearances for the Gunners in the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup since his return to fitness.
When asked about the 27-year-old leaving this month, Arteta said: “All the players that are here just want to focus on impacting the team. If something happens, we will assess it.”
Kieran Tierney has 47 Scotland caps
Sky in Italy are reporting that Como are interested in a loan for Barcelona left-back Alex Valle, who is currently on loan at Celtic.
They understand any move for Valle hinges on Tierney joining Celtic this month.
Meanwhile, there is no agreement at present on a new contract for current Celtic left-back Greg Taylor, with his deal due to expire in the summer.
Rodgers tight-lipped on Tierney move
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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers on a potential return to the club for Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney and his January transfer plans.
Speaking earlier this month, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers refused to be drawn on whether he is plotting to bring Tierney back to Celtic, although he did describe the Scotland and Arsenal left-back as “one of us”.
“Yeah, we’ll always be linked with top players, and especially players that are one of us,” said Rodgers.
“Kieran was an instrumental part of a really, really successful period when I was here, and his talents then took him on to another challenge in the Premier League.
“So, yeah, we’ll be linked with lots of names, Kieran obviously, naturally because of his situation. But for us, we’ll only ever tell you when we sign a player, once he’s signed.”
Why a Celtic return might tempt Tierney
Tierney made more than 170 appearances for Celtic and won five Scottish Premiership titles during his time with the club.
Speaking to The Currie Club podcast with Darrell Currie in 2022, Tierney did not rule out a return to Celtic:
“I think when a player who loves the club leaves, there’s always that, ‘what if he comes back’, and you can’t rule anything out,” he said.
“I’m always going to love Celtic, I’m always going to support Celtic, so you never know in football.”
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