Arsenal star to Celtic declared a January 'option' but lingering problem spells trouble over possible deal


Andy Walker believes Celtic will be one of a “number” of January transfer options for Arsenal outcast Kieran Tierney to consider as he weighs up his next move.
Reports earlier this week claimed the injury-prone Scotland international would be open to a Parkhead return this winter with his Premier League club willing to sanction an exit, with a loan move deemed the most likely solution.
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Hide AdRumours of a possible return to Glasgow’s east end have been swirling among on social media in recent days after Tierney was pictured in conversation with Hoops manager Brendan Rodgers at the Celtic FC Foundation gala dinner in London last week. That left supporters excited about the prospect of the Lennoxtown graduate potentially heading back to Scotland to get his career back on track.


Tierney, who is behind Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ricardo Calafiori in the pecking order at the Emirates, previously refused to rule out making a historic Celtic comeback, stating: “Who knows? You never know in football; it’s a connection that I’ll always have, somewhere I imagine I’ll always be linked with if I’m to move from any club, so you never know.”
The boyhood Celtic fan won eight trophies and made 170 appearances during his time in Glasgow before clinching a £25million transfer. He is still a firm favourite among the club’s fanbase, but consistent injury problems have limited his game time in recent seasons.
Walker has cast his verdict on whether Tierney re-joining Celtic is a realistic possibility. Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show, he explained: “I think it might be an option, but he’ll have a number of options. He’s already been over to Spain, I think Kieran’s problem just now is he’s just too prone to injury, we all know what he can do, he was just a fabulous player for Celtic and really deserved that move to the top-flight.
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Hide Ad“It worked out for him for a spell, but when you keep picking up niggling injuries, it’s really difficult to keep going and get a run of games. That’s what you want him to do, but he’ll definitely have options, Celtic being one of them.
Referring to the volume of games Tierney played earlier in his career, Walker added: “I don’t know if he’s maybe been overplayed when he was younger, I don’t know if that’s a consideration for him. I just wish him well, I hope he can get back to a level of fitness. There’s nothing better than playing a full season, every game.
“I know that the demands are there; sometimes you can play 50/60, close to 70 games (in a season). We’ve seen that with Callum McGregor in recent years, I know there’s a lot of debate just now about an overload and a fixture schedule that’s just a bit bit too much, but for Kieran Tierney, you just want him to be available every week.”
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