Celtic have opened negotiations with Arsenal over a takeover of Kieran Tierney.
The Scottish left-back, who won four SPFL titles with the Hoops before moving to north London for £25m in 2019, is out of contract at the end of the season.
It is believed that Tierney is keen to return to Glasgow and personal terms would not be an issue provided the two clubs can reach an agreement.
Arsenal will demand a small fee for the all-action defender, who spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad in Spain. He recently made his first appearance for Arsenal since the 2023 Community Shield in the 3-2 Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Crystal Palace.
However, the Gunners recently decided that they would not activate a one-year extension option on the Scotland international's contract, meaning he was free to talk to foreign clubs from January 1.
Celtic are said to be willing to wait until the end of the season to land their former player, but with Greg Taylor's contract expiring in May and Alex Valle set to return to Barcelona, Brendan Rodgers wants his selection strengthen as quickly as possible, especially after the 3-0 defeat to Rangers.
At the end of December, Mikel Arteta made it clear that he had welcomed Tierney, signed by Unai Emery, with open arms.
The Spaniard said: “Right now he is here with us. I wouldn't play against a player who is thinking about leaving or who is not committed to us, so he is fully committed. He is enjoying coming back after a long period of time to play with a very serious injury.” So live now. He's a big part of the squad now, he deserves to be in the squad and played really well after such a long time, so that's all I can say.”
Should Tierney be sold, it seems more likely that Arsenal will retain Polish defender Jakub Kiwior. The versatile central defender, who can also play as a left back, is receiving a lot of attention from Marseille.
Kiwior has been frustrated by his lack of minutes this season and also has a market in Italy, where he previously played for Spezia. However, Arteta still rates the player, who excelled in December when he helped Arsenal keep a clean sheet in the 2-0 win over Manchester United.
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