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Celtic are set for a busy end to the January window but may have to wait until the end of the season for a reunion with Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney, TEAMtalk understands.
Tierney’s contract with Arsenal is set to expire at the end of the season and Celtic have already reached a pre-agreement to sign him on a free transfer in the summer.
The Scottish side are keen to bring Tierney back to Parkhead this month but are struggling to reach an agreement, as Arsenal are short on left-back options and the 27-year-old has been used in the squad.
Tierney has played in two of Arsenal’s last three Premier League games and sources state that Mikel Arteta is not against keeping him until the end of the season.
This means that as things stand, Tierney is likely to play out the remainder of the campaign with Arsenal and then join Celtic on a free in the summer.
The Scottish international joined Arsenal from Celtic in 2019 for a fee of around £25million. He has gone through spells of being a key player but injuries have limited his development.
Tierney was on loan with Real Sociedad last season but was again hampered by injuries. Celtic will hope that he can overcome these issues and become an important player for them.
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Celtic will have to wait for Kieran Tierney
Tierney is currently on a big wage of £110,000 per week with Arsenal, per Capology, and Celtic will not be able to match that salary.
Arsenal were keen to see the rest of Tierney’s contract covered if he had left on loan this month and that would have amounted to around £2.5million.
Celtic are a wealthy club compared to their Scottish rivals but they will not spend when they don’t need to and spending millions on a loan for Tierney when they can sign him for free in six months would not make business sense.
Talks are ongoing between Celtic and Arsenal but the expectation among sources is that Tierney will return to the Glasgow side in the summer.
That would suit all parties, as it’ll allow Arsenal to keep a squad player, Tierney to keep his wages and Celtic to sign a top class player on a free.
Celtic, meanwhile, have just announced the return of another former fan favourite, Jota, this week, while Kyogo Furuhashi is set to leave to join Rennes.
Meanwhile, TEAMtalk understands that Chelsea are considering a bid for RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko, who is also a top target for Arsenal.
The Gunners have had their eye on Sesko for some time and sources state that Leipzig could consider bids in the region of £50million this month.
Arsenal were expected to wait until the summer to make a move for the 21-year-old but if Chelsea submit an offer for him this month, as sources suggest, it could force the north Londoners to act sooner.
In other news, reports from Spain claim that Arsenal are ready to trigger the £49million release clause of Athletic Club winger Nico Williams.
Arsenal are keen to sign a new left-sided attacker and as we’ve previously reported, Williams is at the top of their shortlist alongside Wolves forward Matheus Cunha.
