Arsenal closing in on Kieran Tierney capture after restructuring £25million deal for Celtic defender- Arsenal are close on an agreement with Celtic for Kieran Tierney in a revised deal
- The deal looked to have collapsed as Arsenal refused to increase the upfront fee
- Unai Emery remains keen to get the deal over the line and sign the left-back
- Tierney, a boyhood Celtic fan, told his club he wants a Premier League chance
Arsenal are closing on an agreement with Celtic for left-back Kieran Tierney after restructuring their £25million offer. The deal looked to have collapsed last week as Arsenal refused to increase their initial down payment and fell £5m short of Celtic's demands. The 22-year-old Tierney has told Celtic he wants the chance to play in the Premier League and the Scottish champions are willing to grant his wish if Arsenal pay a larger proportion of the fee up front. Unai Emery, who saw prospective £72m club record signing Nicolas Pepe arrive for his medical on Tuesday, needs defensive reinforcements with unsettled captain Laurent Koscielny unwilling to play for the club again and pushing to join Rennes on a free.
The Spaniard is now keen to get a deal sorted despite concerns over the left-back’s pelvic issues following a double hernia operation. Arsenal are faced with injury worries across the defence, with full-back Hector Bellerin set to miss the start of the season. Monaco are among the clubs to ask about Shkodran Mustafi with the German set to move on from the Emirates after a three-year spell and leave the squad lighter still.
Napoli were also understood to be interested in signing Tierney but Carlo Ancelotti ruled out a move, keeping faith with Faouzi Ghoulam and Mario Rui.
Meanwhile Virgil van Dijk - a former Celtic star himself - has backed Tierney to succeed in English football should the move materialise.
'It is not an easy step to make and you have to play well to do it. But he has the qualities,' said the Dutchman.
'Kieran made his debut against Dundee when I was at Celtic. I scored a free-kick up there and then he came on and helped us get the win.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7303163/Transfer-news-Arsenal-closing-Kieran-Tierney-capture-restructuring-25m-deal.html