Gunners could be third time lucky with KT
Arsenal are closing in on a deal for Celtic’s Kieran Tierney, following two previous failed bids for the player.
It’s believed that the Celtic board are now considering an offer from the London club of £20-million up front, with add-ons for hitting specified targets, such as appearances, Champions League participation and so on.
Those would take the total cost of the package to beyond Celtic’s £25m asking price for the Scotland left-back.
The Gunners are also willing to include former England rightback Carl Jenkinson as a makeweight. The 27-year-old made only eight appearances under new Gunners manager Unai Emery last term.
Should the deal go through, it would represent a new transfer record for a Scottish club, eclipsing the £19m Celtic received from Lyon for striker Moussa Dembele.
It would also make KT the most-expensive Scottish footballer, topping the £15m West Brom paid RB Leipzig for Scotland winger Oliver Burke in 2017.
Tierney, who has captained both club and country, has 170 appearances for his only senior club under his belt, winning eight major trophies since breaking into the first-team under Ronny Deila in 2015.
He is currently recovering from a hernia operation. But he is with Celtic at their preseason camp in Austria, and should be back in action by the time the English season kicks off on the second weekend in August.
Tierney would have been willing to relocate to the Premier League last summer, but Celtic rejected offers from Everton for the 22-year-old.
Manager Neil Lennon has already brought in centre-half Christopher Jullien and holding midfielder Luca Connell.
However, following the departures of Mikael Lustig, Cristian Gamboa and Emilio Izaguirre, he needs cover in both fullback positions, and the champions are pursuing a move for Luton Town right-back, Jack Stacey.
He began his career with Reading, and Celtic’s current head of recruitment, Nicky Hammond, knows the 23-year-old Englishman from his own time there.
The Hoops are also trailing Rapid Vienna’s £3m-rated left-back, Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, who faced Rangers in the Europa League last season.
He has two years left on his contract with Rapid, who finished third in Austria’s top tier last season.
Another target is Nice left-back Romain Perraud.
The 21-year-old spent last season on loan to Ligue 2 outfit Paris FC, and is anxious to leave in order to play regularly at the highest level.
Celtic will also return for Motherwell midfielder David Turnbull in the January window after his £3m move to Parkhead collapsed after a medical.