Brendan Rodgers refuses to rule out Celtic raid on Arsenal for potential January coup

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has refused to rule out the possibility of re-signing Kieran Tierney from Arsenal but admits the club need to ‘improve the squad’ ahead of the January transfer window.

Tierney made his first appearance of the season in Arsenal’s Carabao Cup quarter-final victory over Crystal Palace on Wednesday night, playing 69 minutes before being replaced by young talent Myles Lewis-Skelly.

A combination of injury problems and Mikel Arteta’s preference for full-backs who can also operate in central midfield has seen Tierney drop down the pecking order in north London, with the 27-year-old spending last season on loan at LaLiga side Real Sociedad.

TT learned after the win over Palace that Arsenal have decided against taking up an option to extend Tierney’s contract, with the full-back now primed for a 2025 exit.

The lifelong Celtic fan joined the Scottish giants aged just seven and went on to make 170 appearances for his boyhood team before completing a £25million switch to The Emirates in 2019.

Rodgers admits he shared a good relationship with Tierney during his first spell in charge of Celtic, even handing the left-back the captain’s armband in 2017 as the pair won two league titles together.

However, when asked about rumours of a possible reunion with the defender ahead of Celtic’s clash with Dundee United on Sunday, Rodgers was keeping his powder dry.

“Kieran is someone I know really well but there will be lots of players linked with coming to Celtic,” he told Sky Sports. “We will never speak about a player, especially a young player who is at another club. But we’ve got work to do, we know that. We want to improve the squad further in a number of key areas.

“But until that happens, the players we’ve got here have been working so well and we’ll just continue to work with them and see what happens in January.”

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No recurrence of Tierney injury woes

Despite hobbling off in Arsenal’s win over Palace, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta played any injury concerns for the player at his post-match press conference, admitting: “No, just cramp.”

As for Tierney’s display against Palace, Arteta added: “It’s just playing each player in their strengths. That’s something that we have to continue to learn because players give you a lot of information.

“They tell you, not so much with their words, but with a lot of information where they feel more comfortable.

“Certainly there is a much better fit for him.”

The Scotsman will almost certainly be back on the bench when Arsenal return to Premier League action against Palace again, this time at Selhurst Park, on Saturday evening.

The Gunners could move to within three points of leaders Liverpool with a win at Selhurst Par, with the Reds and second-placed Chelsea both in action on Sunday.

Arsenal quiz: Before or after – Who joined the Gunners earlier?