Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney is willing to take a pay cut in order to return to Celtic, according to The Mirror (via the Daily Record).

The former Hoops player is said to be open to making the move back to Scotland, and he would be prepared to reduce his £120,000 a week salary in order to make the transfer happen.

Manager Brendan Rodgers is also, unsurprisingly, very much behind Tierney coming back to Glasgow, after four years away.

The left-back has struggled to get minutes for Arsenal over the last twelve months following the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City.

Tierney managed only six league starts in total for the Gunners last season and his desire for regular first-team football could lead him back north of the border.

Celtic will have rivals for Tierney’s signature

Newcastle have been regularly linked with an offer for the Scottish international over the past six months, but the Magpies are not expected to step up their interest at this stage of the transfer window.

Due to Financial Fairplay rules, Eddie Howe’s team do need to raise funds through player sales before making an approach for Tierney.

A deal to bring back Tierney is a real possibility

For once, Celtic are actually in a much better position financially than even some English Premier League clubs.

The £25m received from Jota’s move to Saudi Arabia, and an additional £7m if Jeremie Frimpong is sold by Bayer Leverkusen, could leave the Scottish champions with a very sizeable transfer budget.

However, with Arsenal reportedly wanting as much as £30m for Tierney, the chances of bringing him back to Parkhead are still not in their favour. Things could change later in the summer, and if a cut-price deal becomes possible, it is something that the Hoops would seriously consider.