Kieran Tierney opens up on Celtic return rumours

Kieran Tierneyn during the friendly match between Scotland and Northern Ireland at Hampden on March 26, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Kieran Tierney has spoken about a return to Celtic as Arsenal consider selling the Scotland Internationalist.

 Kieran Tierney of Real Sociedad applauds the fans after the draw in the LaLiga EA Sports match between Getafe CF and Real Sociedad at Coliseum Alfonso Perez on April 21, 2024 in Getafe, Spain. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

Reports from London suggested the Gunners would take £10m for the left back.

Speaking to The Athletic ahead of Scotland’s opening game at Euro 2024 against Germany, Tierney admitted that he would only return to his boyhood club if he felt he could contribute as he did before.

“I left that to go and challenge myself”

“I don’t regret it. I still miss it but I knew life would never be the same. I was living my dream. Being a footballer is the dream but playing for Celtic was the ultimate.

Real Sociedad’s Scottish defender Kieran Tierney fights for the ball with Athletic Bilbao’s Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera during the Spanish Liga football match between Real Sociedad and Athletic Club Bilbao at the Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian on September 30, 2023. (Photo by CESAR MANSO/AFP via Getty Images)

“I left that to go and challenge myself in the Premier League and come up against the best to see how I’d cope. If I go back, I want to be feeling how I did there before.

“I’ll be a different player to what I was, as I’ve been away for years, but I wouldn’t want to go back if I wasn’t feeling 100 per cent in my body. I know the intensity and the demand to win so, if I go back, it will be when I’m still feeling good.”

Fitness issue the biggest obstacle 

 Kieran Tierney of Real Sociedad is challenged by Nico Williams of Athletic Club during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad at Estadio de San Mames on January 13, 2024 in Bilbao. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

Tierney left for London in the summer of 2019 after Neil Lennon took over from Brendan Rodgers on a permanent basis. The Irishman had helped Celtic to a Treble Treble but Tierney missed the game through injury.

A move back to Celtic would be a fairytale for Tierney, who proved himself to be an excellent player in the Premier League but struggled to maintain fitness due to injuries.