KIERAN TIERNEY’S name is being linked with a loan move to Celtic.
Brendan Rodgers is scouring the market for a left-back with Greg Taylor the only recognised No.3 in his first-team squad.
Alexandro Bernabei is on loan at Brazilian club Internacional until the end of the year and there is every possibility Scottish football has seen the last of the Argentinian back-four operator who arrived in a £3.75million deal from Lanus in June 2022.
Tierney, who celebrates his 27th birthday tomorrow, left the champions in a record £25million move to Arsenal in the summer of 2019, but has never hidden his love of the Hoops.
THE WAY WE WERE…Brendan Rodgers hugs Kieran Tierney after Celtic’s 2-0 League Cup Final win over Motherwell at Hampden in November 2017.
The speculation is understandable up to a point, but it hits a brick wall when practicalities such as fees and wages come into play.
Tierney was also mentioned for a surprise reunion with Rodgers last summer, but the dreams and hopes of the Celtic fans were scuppered when he moved in a season-long temporary switch to La Liga outfit Real Sociedad.
A year ago, CQN stressed it would take a massive compromise among all parties for a loan to be put in place for the Scotland international defender to make a Parkhead comeback.
It’s clear Tierney, who still has two years to run on a lucrative £120,000-per-week contract, has no future at The Emirates with Mikel Arteta looking to the likes of Ukrainian Oleksandr Zinchenko and Japanese Takehiro Tomiyasu to compete for the shirt.
A year ago, the Spanish club obviously met the criteria set by the London side and would have agreed to stump up a reasonable loan fee and a percentage of the player’s wages which would have proved prohibitive for Celtic.
EURO STAR…Kieran Tierney in action for Scotland.
Arsenal would also be searching for a team with the financial muscle and inclination to pay something in the region of £25million for their player if he impressed during his loan period.
Tierney, who won four titles and was a key member of Rodgers’ treble treble squad, was hampered by a hamstring injury during his term at Sociedad, but still made 22 appearances in La Liga.
Performing in one of Europe’s top five leagues would also have been taken into consideration by the Gunners’ hierarchy who would be hoping for their defender to attract attention of potential purchasers.
When you weigh up the pros and cons of the possibility of a return of a Celtic fans’ favourite you are confronted with what appears to be insurmountable hurdles.
However, we can always dream.
ALEX GORDON
