‘World class’, ‘excited’ and ‘delighted’ are just some of the words that Tosh McKinlay has used to describe Kieran Tierney after his return to Celtic on a free transfer. The 50-time Scotland international was once a part of a Celtic side which won four league titles, two Scottish Cups and two League Cups between 2015 and 2019 - and now he has his sights set on adding to that illustrious trophy cabinet after six years in England with Premier League heavyweights Arsenal. Tierney joined the Gunners for a then club-record sale of around £25m. He missed the early part of his Arsenal career with a hernia injury but recovered to form an important part of the team that won the FA Cup in 2020 while also featuring regularly in a team which climbed from eighth to fifth in the league in 2021/22 before mounting a surprise title push a year later. Injuries limited Tierney’s progress in North London after the signings of Oleksandr Zinchenko and the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly among others as the 27-year-old fell down the pecking order during his final two seasons in the capital. However, McKinlay insists the Hoops are still getting a world class operator in his prime years as Brendan Rodgers aims to assemble a group that can defend the title for a fifth season in a row. Tosh McKinlay, who starred for Celtic between 1994 and 1999 is delighted to see Kieran Tierney back at Parkhead and has even gone as far to compare the 27-year-old to club legend Tommy Gemmell. He told the Daily Record: “We’ve had some decent left backs over the years, but I think Kieran’s right up there with the best of them – Tommy Gemmell being one of them. “I think you need to defend well, but obviously the other but of the job is getting forward and getting crosses into the box for the strikers.So, I’m sure Kieran will be looking forward to marauding up and down the line like he did the last time. It’s absolutely brilliant to see him back, he’s a world-class left-back. Obviously, he’s had a stint in England, but delighted to have him back. “It’s in the badge, it’s in the blood. I’m really looking forward to seeing him in the first game, getting the Hoops back on. Everybody’s delighted he’s back. I’m sure the supporters will be excited about seeing him play for Celtic again.” Kieran Tierney lifted six major honours during his first stint at Celtic while being crowned the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year on three occasions. He also made the Team of the Season thrice and made the Champions League breakthrough XI in 2017. However, he still has some way to go if he is to live up to the achievements of Lisbon Lion Tommy Gemmell, who lifted six league titles, four Scottish Cups, five League Cups and most notably the European Cup in 1967 against Inter Milan to make them the first ever British team to win the trophy. Gemmell only represented Scotland 18 times in his career but was largely considered to be one of the best footballers in his position during his peak years with 418 appearances for Celtic while scoring 63 goals. He is one of only three British players to score in two European Cup finals, having starred in the 1970 final defeat to Feyenoord and placed sixth on the Ballon D’Or list in 1967, just three behind the great Jimmy Johnstone, who narrowly missed out to winner Flórián Albert and runner-up Bobby Charlton at the time. Read More: Brendan Rodgers set two transfer Celtic tasks amid move fans 'absolutely love' and area he's struggling with