Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney has refused to rule out a return to Celtic in the future.

The fullback was sold by the Hoops for £25m in the summer of 2019 but he is currently out on loan at Real Sociedad, with speculation that he could leave the Emirates permanently at the end of the season. Asked whether he could ever see himself back in a Celtic shirt, Tierney replied:

“Who knows? You never know in football; it’s a connection that I’ll always have, somewhere I imagine I’ll always be linked with if I’m to move from any club, so you never know.”

Manager Brendan Rodgers did express an interest in bringing Tierney back to Parkhead last year when it became clear that the Gunners were open to loaning the player out.

Rodgers did, however, make it clear that any deal would be tough due to the finances involved and that could remain a big stumbling block in future.

Covering the transfer fee and Tierney’s wages would be difficult

As Kenny Miller pointed out last week, it is not only the cost of the transfer that would make any deal a challenge to broker.

Tierney earns in excess of £100,000 a week at Arsenal so, even if Celtic managed to agree an initial loan, they would require Arsenal to pick up the tab for the majority of his salary.

Celtic will be in the market for a left-back

The Hoops don’t currently have a backup option for Greg Taylor, with Alexandro Bernabei having secured a loan move to Internacional. That deal runs until December and the Argentinian could also make the switch on a permanent basis if the Brazilian side take up their option to buy.

That means a replacement at left-back will be needed. Recruiting Tierney would be the ideal scenario but other options will have to be considered if an agreement with Arsenal is deemed unrealistic.