National soccer star, William Tierro,has returned to Liberty Professionals following the non-extension of his loan spell with Asante Kotoko.

The Black Stars player completed a one-year loan deal with Kotoko on January 6 and could have earned a full transfer to the club, but Liberty say ?we need him in our future campaigns?.

?We want to maintain a strong team in 2005, and William (Tierro) is key to our ambitions in the coming season,? club president, Alhaji Sly Tetteh,told the Graphic Sports in an interview last Thursday.

But the player?s presence in Liberty for the upcoming season would depend on what happens in his expected trials with Russia?s Locomotiv Moscow by the close of February.

He said in a separate interview that the Russian club had expressed interest in him and he was only awaiting a formal invitation from the club to enable him to attend the trials.

Tierro was part of the Liberty squad that qualified the team to last year?s second-rate CAF Confederation Cup, but joined Kotoko for the CAF Champions League. Kotoko ended as finalists in the Confederation Cup, losing the trophy on penalties to Hearts of Oak in the historic all-Ghanaian final.

But even before his loan contract expired, former Kotoko coach, Hans-Dieter Schmidt, sounded the player?s imminent return to Liberty when he questioned his commitment to Kotoko.

Schmidt was dismissed after the CAF Confederation Cup final,and the Liberty president said Kotoko had revived their interest in the player.

Alhaji Tetteh said Liberty would also extend their search into Benin and Kenya to strengthen the side in the year.