Arsenal are reportedly closing in on the signing of Celtic superstar Kieran Tierney, with reports of a near irrefutable bid set to be lodged.
Arsenal’s initial bid of £15 million for Kieran Tierney may have been knocked back by Celtic. But, Football Insider report that the Gunners are set to come back in with an offer that will be hard for Celtic to refuse, which means we could see Unai Emery make his first signing of the summer in the form of the Scottish international.
As reported elsewhere Arsenal have had an opening bid of £15m for Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney rejected – but there is optimism an agreement will be reached between the clubs, while personal terms for the 22-year-old Scotland international shouldn’t be a problem #AFC #CelticFC
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) June 22, 2019
BBC Sport journalist David Ornstein had also said something along the same lines. Ornstein had stated that, despite the rejection of the initial bid, Arsenal are confident of striking an agreement with Celtic for Tierney, with the club likely to have no problems in agreeing personal terms with the player.
Kieran Tierney is not a new name in terms of being linked with a transfer to the Premier League. The Scottish international has been on the radar of top English clubs for more than a year. But, perhaps, the time is ripe for Arsenal to move for Tierney, who might feel he wants a new challenge after winning every possible domestic trophy with Celtic.
For starters, Arsenal could do with someone to replace Nacho Monreal, who despite his age, was a steady customer in defence for Unai Emery & co. But, the Spaniard is not agile enough to be deployed in a left wing-back role and Sead Kolasinac isn’t as defensively aware of his duties and positioning while being a brilliant prospect as far as going forward is concerned.
I’m gonna assume that Arsenal have access to this information? I found it in 2 seconds
Kieran Tierney pic.twitter.com/9S39yXGoox
— Miss Brexit??™️ (@NilWil72) June 22, 2019
Tierney ticks all the boxes while also already having tasted success at the top level with Celtic on a consistent basis over the last few years. But, one thing Arsenal will have to be wary of is that the Celtic star is known to be injury-prone and has missed lengthy periods of seasons with varied injury issues.
While Celtic are reportedly holding out for £25 million, even this amount could prove to be a bargain if Tierney does realise his full potential and replicates his Celtic swagger at Arsenal.
What Emery now has to decide is whether it is worthwhile going for a quality young full-back who might be making a jump from arguably a one-club league to the more competitive Premier League and has had regular injury issues. On paper, this looks like a brilliant coup for Arsenal and one they are almost certain to complete, if they want to.
