Kieran Tierney on verge of sealing pre-contract deal to re-join Celtic

Kieran Tierney is on the verge of sealing a return to Celtic on a pre-contract deal that will see him re-join his former club in the summer.

Tierney was brought through the youth ranks at Parkhead and made his debut for the club as an 18-year-old in 2015.

He went on to make 170 first-team appearances and was a key member of four league-winning sides.

The Scotland international also won two Scottish and two League Cups before joining Arsenal for £25m in 2019.

During his five and a half years in London, he has made 128 appearances and was part of The Gunners’ FA Cup-winning side in his first full season.

Over the last couple of seasons, he has fallen out of favour with manager Mikel Arteta, struggled to get back in the team, and dealt with a series of injury problems.

With his contract up in the summer, the 27-year-old is set to return to Celtic on a free, where he will again link up with manager Brendan Rodgers.

It remains to be seen if the defender, who has six months left on his current Arsenal contract, will make the move back to Glasgow this month.

Meanwhile, Celtic are in talks with French club Rennes over a potential £10m transfer of star forward Kyogo Furuhashi.

The 30-year-old Japan international has scored 85 goals in 165 games for the Hoops since making a move from the J-League in 2021.

It has also emerged that Portuguese winger Jota, who is currently out of favour at the Ligue 1 side, could be set for a sensational return.

Celtic are exploring the option of bringing the 25-year-old, who left to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad in 2023, back to Parkhead.

STV Sport understands that the Scottish champions are now ramping up their transfer activity following their victory over Young Boys on Wednesday, which secured a place in the knockout stages of the Champions League.