Celtic may have Kieran Tierney return answer already as Arsenal exit path 'emerges' while injury explained

The Scotland star is at a career crossroads having been sidelined since June

Forgotten Kieran Tierney has reportedly been given the green light to leave Arsenal - sending the Celtic rumour mill into overdrive over the prospect of a return.

But a La Liga side appear to have stolen a march on interested parties - with the Hoops academy graduate potentially already giving the Scottish Premiership champions his answer on a move. The Scotland defender hasn't kicked a ball since he was sidelined through injury at Euro 2024 after spending last season away from the Premier League giants at Real Sociedad - and Mikel Arteta is said to have told the left-back his time is up at the Emirates.

The 27-year-old is said to have been given approval to leave the Gunners on loan when the January window opens - giving Tierney the chance to put himself in the shop window when the summer rolls around. Back in 2023, Brendan Rodgers refused to rule out a move - but did close the door on a permanent deal.

Asked about a move before his switch to Sociedad, the Celtic boss said: “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."

Could a loan get off the ground, though? Spanish outlet Grada 3 report that Las Palmas have enquired about a temporary deal as they look to bolster their Scottish contingent with both Oli McBurnie and Scott McKenna already at the club. And a move to Spain over the Hoops may suit Tierney as he ramps up his fitness. Speaking earlier this year about a potential return to Celtic, he told The Athletic he wouldn't want to come back if he wasn't "100 per cent in my body."

He said at the time: "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.”

And speaking to AFTV, Dr Andre explained the issue facing Tierney - who has been ruled out since June with a hamstring knock. He said: “The hamstring is a two-joint muscle. It does the hip and the knee, so it does two different joints and for that reason the rehabilitation and rebuild and the knowledge that muscle needs to regain is way more complex.”

So, if Tierney is still building up his fitness after a "complex" issue, would he see it as the right time to return to the Parkhead cauldron? A move back to La Liga may suit the boyhood fan more at this stage of his career.

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