CELTIC are in pole position to pull off a sensational transfer coup and bring Kieran Tierney back to Parkhead.
It emerged on Wednesday night that Arsenal won’t take up the option to extend the Scotland star’s contract beyond next summer.
That means Tierney can sign a pre-contract with a non-English club as soon as next month.
And now SunSport can reveal Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers - who has been keen to get Tierney back ever since his own return - is poised with a move to take him back to the club where he kicked off his career and won four league trophies.
It's understood the Parkhead are considering a deal to take the 27-year-old fan favourite home when the transfer window opens next month.
But with Tierney - who left Celtic for a then Scottish record £25million fee five years ago - on a six-figure weekly wage that could prove tricky.
Celtic could try to take him on loan for the last six months of his Emirates deal.
But if that is not possible they could look to get him signed up on a pre-contract agreement that would see him pull on the hoops once again for the start of season 2025/26.
There is sure to be rival interest in his signature from the English Premier League and foreign clubs, with Newcastle United previously strong contenders.
But it's believed Celtic are firmly in the driving seat to pull off any deal.
Tierney has always had a strong desire to one day return to Celtic and there is now a huge chance it could happen.
Boss Rodgers currently has two main options for left-back but the futures of both Greg Taylor and Alex Valle are uncertain.
Taylor has been at the club since joining from Kilmarnock as Tierney's replacement in a £2m move in 2019 but his contract is up in the summer with no sign of an extension being agreed.
Valle is only at the club on loan until the end of the season, although there is speculation that his stay could be cut even shorter if Barcelona decide to recall him in January.
A Hoops homecoming for Tierney would delight fans who adored the boyhood fan.
SunSport revealed in June last year that Tierney was open to a return back then but the deal couldn't be finalised.
Instead he went on a season-long loan to Real Sociedad in La Liga.
Born on 5 June, 1997 in Douglas, Isle of Man and moved to Scotland as a small child
Joined boyhood club Celtic as a seven-year-old and progressed to the first team
Made Hoops debut aged 17 in April 2015 before enjoying major breakthrough in the 2015/16 season
Tierney became an key Celtic player and he hearned the PFA Scotland and SFWA Young Player of the Year Awards in 2016, 2017 and 2018
He won four consecutive Scottish Premiership titles between 2016 and 2019, also winning two Scottish Cups and two League Cups
Tierney joined Arsenal in a then-Scottish record £25million move in August 2019
He won the FA Cup in first season with the Gunners
A knee injury suffered in March 2022 ended Tierney's season and his Arsenal career has never really recovered
He spent the 2023/24 season on loan at Real Sociedad
Tierney has been capped 47 times for Scotland and was part of the squad at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024
Tierney's career has been badly hampered by a succession of injuries though and two hamstring knocks limited his playing time in Spain.
He returned to fitness in time for Scotland's Euro 2024 campaign and started the opening game against Germany but another hamstring injury against Switzerland ended his campaign early.
He made his first Arsenal start in 19 months in last night’s 3-2 Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace.
He was taken off by boss Mikel Arteta after 69 minutes as a precaution.
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