Out of favour Kieran Tierney thought he was on his way out of Arsenal
The left-back has been at the centre of speculation over a return to Celtic with the Premiership champions reportedly monitoring the Scotland defender. It has been claimed that Tierney – who spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad – would have been allowed to leave permanently last summer had he not picked up a hamstring injury at Euro 2024.
Speculation over an emotional move back to Glasgow’s east end shifted up a gear when Brendan Rodgers was spotted chatting to the 27-year-old at the club charity foundation’s annual gala in London earlier this year – and the man himself has already conceded he could he heading out of the Premier League giants. Asked by The Athletic if he felt he could be heading out of the Emirates, he said: “There is every chance. Look at the squad depth in that position now,
“They have (Oleksandr) Zinchenko, (Jurrien) Timber, (Takehiro) Tomiyasu, (Jakub) Kiwior. Four players can play there. So if I go back and it’s the same as before then I’m not silly, I know the chances are I’ll be leaving.
“But you never know in football. You get the rare case with (William) Saliba, where he came back after a couple of good seasons (out on loan) but you don’t see it too often with someone who has played for four years, left, and then come back to play again.”
But things could be about to abruptly change for Tierney at the club with the club said to be inching closer to finding a replacement for sporting director Edu.
Edu’s replacement may have just landed in Arsenal’s lap, with highly-regarded transfer chief Roberto Olabe announcing he is leaving Real Sociedad. The Brazilian is currently serving six months gardening leave after suddenly announcing his desire to quit.
EPSN report that Olabe has an offer on the table from the Gunners that he views “very positively”. That could spark a rethink over Tierney’s future – who Olabe being a vital figure in bringing the Arsenal man to La Liga on loan last season.