Tierney willing to make HUGE sacrifice to force Arsenal exit

Cameron Smith

• 17 Jul 2023 09:43 BST
• 3 min read

Kieran Tierney has been linked with a sensational return to Celtic and the Scotland international is reportedly prepared to take a huge wage cut in order to make the move happen.

Tierney, 26, left Celtic to join Arsenal in 2019 and enjoyed a prolonged run in the Gunners’ starting XI until Mikel Arteta purchased Oleksandr Zinchenko last summer.

The Ukrainian immediately became the first-choice left-back, resulting in Tierney facing a season of limited minutes, mostly restricted to late substitute appearances. In total, the 26-year-old started just six Premier League games last season and, as a result, has been linked with a transfer away.

MORE: Premier League 2023/24 summer transfers: All the Done Deals

Newcastle and Manchester City emerged as potential suitors for his signature, but Celtic have now stormed to the front of the race to sign Tierney, with the player said to be open to the move.

According to Chronicle Live, Tierney is willing to significantly reduce his weekly wage demands in order to force through a return to Glasgow.

MORE: Arsenal star Tierney 'would want to come back to Celtic'

Rodgers REFUSES to rule-out Tierney return

Brendan Rodgers, who has returned to Celtic after being sacked by Leicester City, refused to rule out the possibility of Tierney coming back to Celtic, giving hope to Bhoys fans.

“There’s been lots of players linked here with me coming back,” Rodgers told the 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-£30 million, that’s for sure, or the figures I see bandied 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.”

Tierney’s current contract at Arsenal runs until 2026, after he signed an extension to his deal in 2021.