Isle of Man-born footballer Kieran Tierney has officially returned to former club Celtic.

The 28-year-old, who was born in Douglas before moving to Scotland at a young age, has put pen to paper on a five-year deal with the Hoops.

Tierney began his football journey in the club’s youth academy before making his first-team debut for the Scottish giants just over 10 years ago in April 2015.

The attacking full-back immediately caught the eye and quickly established himself in the starting XI, going on the make a total of 170 appearance for the Bhoys, scoring eight goals and assisting 37 more.

During that time, Tierney won 10 major trophies for the Glasgow giants, including three successive league and cup trebles, two of which were under the guidance of former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.

Amidst that run of success, Tierney was part of the first Scottish side to complete a top-flight season undefeated since 1899.

He also cemented his place in the Scotland international team and was selected as captain for a friendly match against the Netherlands in November 2017.

This all led to plenty of attention from other top clubs around Europe before he joined Arsenal in the summer of 2019.

He again quickly established himself as the Gunners’ first choice left-back, going on to make 144 appearances for the London club and winning the FA Cup in 2020.

Unfortunately for Tierney, he endured a run of injuries in the following few seasons which, coupled with the emergence of the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Myles Lewis-Skelly, meant he lost his place in the starting XI.

This led to him going on loan at Spanish side Real Sociedad during the 2023-24 season where he chalked up 26 appearances, although his campaign was disrupted by a couple of hamstring injuries, something which plagued him at the start of the 2024-25 season back at Arsenal.

Gradually though, Tierney worked his way back into first team contention at Arsenal and racked up another 20 appearance for the Gunners, poignantly scoring in his last game for the club against Southampton just last month.

Upon the expiring of his contract with Arsenal, he has now opted to return to his boyhood club and, after months of speculation, the move was finally confirmed on Tuesday afternoon.

‘Everybody’s known for a few months and just to be here with the Celtic strip on again just feels amazing,’ he told Celtic’s website.

‘I spoke with the manager [Brendan Rodgers] and obviously I had worked with him before and I’ve always kept in touch with him. He’s one of the best so I’m so lucky and grateful that he’s given me the chance to come back again.

‘When you move away from home, you grow up, you learn different things. I was in Spain for a year, learning a different language and playing in a different league, so I’m definitely a different person.

‘Player-wise, it’s the same as I always say – I’ll try and work my hardest, I’ll do my best for the club and that’s all I can do.

‘My ambition is just for Celtic to be as successful as possible, retain our place at the top and continue to win trophies and do well for Celtic.’

Having made his own return to Celtic two years ago after four seasons with Leicester City, Rodgers was pleased to welcome Tierney back to Parkhead: ‘We are delighted to welcome Kieran back to Celtic. He is such a talented, high-quality player and he will be a massive addition to our squad.

‘Kieran has always had Celtic in his blood and he is excited to be coming back to the place he loves.

‘He is someone who has given so much to Celtic already and I know he is so motivated and hungry to help the club bring more and more success to our fans.

‘We are so pleased to bring such an elite player back to the club and I look forward to working with him again and the rest of the squad, as we face the many challenges ahead at home and in Europe.’