Mikel Arteta has been coy on Kieran Tierney’s future at Arsenal, with Celtic reportedly in talks to re-sign the defender this January.
It has long been known that Tierney is no longer in Arteta’s plans, with the left-back even spending last season on loan at Real Sociedad.
He would have left the Emirates last summer, but suffered a lengthy hamstring injury while playing for Scotland at Euro 2024 and only recently returned to action.
Now that he is back to fitness, it is expected the 27-year-old will move this month and a return to boyhood club Celtic has been mooted.
While manager Brendan Rodgers has looked to play down speculation, Fabrizio Romano reports that ‘negotiations are underway’ between the two clubs.
With his contract up at the end of the season, it is likely there will be little to nothing in terms of a transfer fee, with Tierney ‘keen’ to go back to Glasgow where he first made his name.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal’s clash at Brighton on Saturday, Arteta was asked about whether Tierney would be moving on in January.
The Gunners boss refused to give an update however, but did suggest that Thomas Partey and Jorginho, who like Tierney are out of contract in the summer, could leave on a free.
‘That’s a possibility. It’s close communication with them, what their idea is, what they want to do, and what are their intentions,’ he said on the duo.
‘We have to focus on the players that we have. They have to have an impact on the team. At the moment the focus is on more that what we have.’
Tierney was signed for Arsenal by Unai Emery in the summer of 2019 for £25million and to date he has made 125 appearances for the north Londoners, winning the FA Cup in his first season.
Prior to the move he won four straight Scottish Premiership titles with the Bhoys, the latter three playing under Rodgers.
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