Napoli have reportedly set their sights on Arsenal star Kieran Tierney once again as they look for reinforcements for the left-back berth.
According to Daily Telegraph, Napoli are eyeing a shock and perhaps unrealistic move for Kieran Tierney. The Arsenal defender has been identified as one of the long-term options for the Serie A outfit, who are looking to add more quality in their left-back department following their struggles in the ongoing campaign.
Although the Partenopei are unlikely to make a move for Tierney in the ongoing transfer window, they could make him a priority target in the summer. As for the January window, they have set their sights on a loan deal for Chelsea outcast Emerson Palmieri as a short-term option in the said position.
Napoli are known to be keen admirers for Tierney for quite a long time now. In fact, they were linked with a move for the former Celtic star in the summer of 2019 but were beaten by Arsenal as the Gunners took full advantage of the cultural and financial advantages provided by the Premier League for the young left-back.
The player himself has enjoyed a good spell at the Emirates despite the fair share of mediocrity regarding Arsenal’s overall team performances. He has grown in confidence and has looked at home in the English top-flight. Under Arteta, in particular, the Scot has transformed himself into a more versatile defender, notably playing as a centre-back for a chunk of last season.
In the ongoing campaign, Tierney has managed to survive the injury scares and has been an ever-present figure in the starting lineup, having mustered almost 1,700 minutes of footballing action for Arsenal in all competitions.
His contributions have been quite important for Arsenal as well, with the 23-year-old notably registering the assist for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s late goal in the recent 2-0 victory over Newcastle United in the FA Cup third round.
Therefore, Napoli’s interest in Tierney could prove to be a futile one as the Scottish international is considered as one of Arsenal’s most crucial players. He is, in fact, the only reliable option at left-back currently, following the January departure of Sead Kolasinac, who has rejoined FC Schalke on a short-term loan deal.
While Tierney is perhaps not a realistic option for Napoli, we might see two other Arsenal defenders in Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis soon be making their way to Serie A as they have been reportedly targeted by Genoa this month. It will be interesting to see how this transfer saga takes shape as Arteta looks to offload most of the fringe players, but Tierney should stay put at the club.
