Celtic transfer insider welcomes Kieran Tierney return with open arms as trusted figure puts faith in Rodgers

Revered Kieran Tierney admits he’ll only return to Parkhead if he can hit the heights he performed at during his first Celtic spell.

But Hoops legend Tosh McKinley has told the Scotland defender he’ll be welcomed back with opened arms. Tierney quit Celtic in 2019 after winning eight trophies during a golden period for the bhoyhood supporter. He was tempted to North London by Arsenal’s record-breaking £25million offer but has spent the last year on loan at La Liga outfit Real Sociedad after dropping out of Mikel Arteta’s Gunners plans.

It's unclear what the immediate future holds now for Tierney after he suffered what was described as a 'bad' injury by Steve Clarke during Scotland's clash with Switzerland. It's set to keep him out of their final game against Hungary and there will be another assessment of his situation in the days ahead. His future remains up in the air though and sources down south say the Premier League giants are now willing to let him leave for a fee in the region of £10million offer - raising hopes among the Celtic faithful that the 27-year-old could be tempted home.

Tierney - who has also been beset by knee and hamstring injuries over the past two seasons - made clear in an interview this week that he will only consider an emotional reunion if he believes he can make the same kind of contribution to Brendan Rodgers’ team as he did first time round.

“I still miss it but I knew life would never be the same,” he told the Athletic. “I was living my dream. Being a footballer is the dream but playing for Celtic was the ultimate. 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