Kieran Tierney isn’t going to rule out a return to Celtic this summer, but the move appears highly unlikely at this stage.

The Scottish Sun, who broke the news of Arsenal’s bids for Kieran Tierney back in 2019, now report that the left-back isn’t ruling out a return to boyhood club Celtic this summer.

Yet Newcastle United are still considered the favourites, given Celtic’s financial restrictions this summer.

Brendan Rodgers has a £30m transfer budget this summer in total, and The Scottish Sun claim even that wouldn’t be enough to buy Tierney.

Given that would be their entire budget, you wouldn’t expect Celtic to bid £30m anyway.

Instead, Celtic would be looking to bring Tierney back on a season-long loan with a substantial loan fee and significant compromises on wages.

But that seems hugely unlikely from an Arsenal point of view, as Tierney surely has more value to the club either in Mikel Arteta’s playing squad or in making a permanent move for decent money.

Sources have continually reported Tierney remains a key target for Newcastle United in the summer transfer window, and he’s set to command a fee of £30m+ with the Premier League side.

That fee makes sense. Newcastle are trying to rival Arsenal in the top four and the Champions League, and Tierney has other interest from Aston Villa, as well as a long contract in north London.

Arsenal are under no obligation to sell to Newcastle, and they’ll want to be properly compensated if they do.

Back in March, the Evening Standard claimed Tierney was open to a move to Newcastle this summer, assuming his game-time with Arsenal didn’t improve before then.

Though the defender hasn’t necessarily been a starter for Arsenal this season, he’s still a key part of the squad, making 36 appearances in all competitions.

But Oleksandr Zinchenko is the first-choice left-back at the moment, limiting Tierney to just six Premier League starts.