Brendan Rodgers has addressed the return of Kieran Tierney to Celtic speculation and admitted that Celtic couldn’t afford to spend the kind of money that Arsenal would be looking for for the player that they paid Celtic £25m for in August 2019.
The Celtic manager also reckons that the Scottish Champions couldn’t pay KT the kind of money he is now on playing in the English Premier League but despite those two crucial caveats still did not dismiss the story or downplay his own interest in bringing the player back to the club for a sensational return.
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – OCTOBER 30: Kieran Tierney of Celtic and Brendan Rodgers manager of Celtic share a joke as they walk out prior to the Celtic Training Session prior to the Group B UEFA Champions League match between Celtic and Bayern Muenchen on October 30, 2017 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
That all adds up to Rodgers being interested in securing the Scotland star on a loan deal which could suit Arsenal too.
“There’s been lots of players linked with here with me coming back,” Rodgers told the media, as reported by Scottish Sun. “All I know is Kieran is like myself, we loved our time here.
“When I spoke to him down the road in the Premier League, every time we met up all we talked about was Celtic. He’s a Celtic man but he’s at a fantastic club in Arsenal.
“You can just never say never in football. Who knows what might happen? We wouldn’t be able to buy Kieran for £25-£30million, that’s for sure, or the figures I see banded about. I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t be able to pay the huge salary he’s on. However, one can never tell.
“What I would say is that we have a couple of really good left-backs here already. I have been really impressed with young Greg Taylor. Watching him come in and settling in at Celtic, he’s been excellent.
“Bernabei is still young and adapting, but I’ve liked those two during the course of pre-season.
“Kieran has an incredible history with the club. He was a massive part of my time here, so there will always be that link. You never know.”