Kieran Tierney has spoken about a return to Celtic as Arsenal consider selling the Scotland Internationalist. Reports from London suggested the Gunners would take £10m for the left back.
Speaking to The Athletic, Tierney admitted that he would only return to his boyhood club if he felt he could contribute as he did before.
“I don’t regret it. I still miss it but I knew life would never be the same. I was living my dream. Being a footballer is the dream but playing for Celtic was the ultimate.
“I left that to go and challenge myself in the Premier League and come up against the best to see how I’d cope. 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.”
Tierney left for London in the summer of 2019 after Neil Lennon took over from Brendan Rodgers on a permanent basis. The Irishman had helped Celtic to a Treble Treble but Tierney missed the game through injury.
A move back to Celtic would be a fairytale for Tierney, who proved himself to be an excellent player in the Premier League but struggled to maintain fitness due to injuries. Arsenal are clearly ready to move the player on and a move to a Champions League club would likely be in Tierney’s thinking. Brendan’s hand is strong but the player’s agent and other influences may look to take him to Serie A or back to La Liga.
Tierney is currently with Scotland in Germany as he and his teammates look to bounce back from Friday evening’s defeat to Germany in Munich.
What remains fairly strange since the end of our season, and even with the window open now, is the lack of names getting linked to the LB position?
We are well use to the amount of rumours surrounding players in certain positions, with the keepers position the obvious one. Yet plenty of names mentioned for the left sided CB.
Yet only Tierney as a possible option at LB, when operating with only Taylor for the 2nd half of last season?
This position was a concern a year ago, and many were disappointed that it wasn’t addressed then?
Now a year down the road, still nothing for definite, and not even our usual approach of putting a few names out there, in order for not being held to ransom, or waiting for ages upon a decision should we really be interested in the player.
So could it actually be possible that such a deal for Tierney is as good as done?
Still think that with so many potential players we could be actually targeting, may well be involved at the euros, and possibly the quality of player Rodgers will be looking for also imo?
So patience may well be required for the next few weeks, but the guessing games will continue no doubt?
He has 2 years left on his contract and if true around 70/80 thousand a week don’t care who they are he is only 27 not going to give up that kind of wage to come to Celtic for £30 thousand unless arsenal pay him a fee to leave so it’s all paper talk not going to happen plus he is injury prone.
Tierney had his chance to be a Celtic legend and like Jota opted for the big money. What makes him or his agent we either need him or want him back too begin with?