SIX clubs battle for Arsenal star who’s ‘waiting for phone to ring’; Aston Villa, Newcastle interest ‘confirmed’

Kieran Tierney is a man in demand, with Aston Villa and Newcastle United among six teams interested in signing the Arsenal star, according to reports.

Tierney arrived at the Emirates in August 2019 when Arsenal paid Celtic £25million for him. Since then, the left-back has made 124 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions and chipped in with five goals and 13 assists.

Tierney has fallen down the pecking order at Arsenal in recent seasons though, and this saw him get loaned out to Real Sociedad for the entirety of the 2023-24 campaign.

After making 26 appearances for the La Liga club, Tierney is now back in North London. That might not be the case for long though, as sources have previously confirmed to TEAMtalk that the Scotland international is ‘expecting’ to leave.

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CaughtOffside have now provided an update on Tierney’s situation. They state that – in a surprise twist – Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta actually wants the player to stay this season and help the Gunners finally get the better of Manchester City in the Premier League title race.

Arteta supposedly believes Tierney can play an ‘important role’ by competing with the likes of Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko for a starting spot at left-back, with Jakub Kiwior set to move on.

Tierney, though, is wary that he will have to sit on the bench for Arsenal if he decides to stay put. Due to this, the 27-year-old and his agent are apparently ‘waiting for the phone to ring’ as they look to engineer an exit.

Aston Villa have long been linked with a swoop for Tierney and the report adds that they still hold ‘confirmed’ interest in him. However, Villa are far from being alone in the transfer hunt.

Arsenal transfer news: Kieran Tierney exit update

Newcastle also hope to keep Tierney in the Premier League, while Celtic are weighing up a bid to re-sign their academy graduate.

Further afield, Spanish clubs Girona, Sevilla and Valencia were all impressed by how Tierney performed at Sociedad and could start talks for him.

In order to convince the 47-cap international on a move, one of those clubs will need to guarantee Tierney that he will play on a weekly basis.

Tierney is fed up with warming the bench and wants to get his career back on track by starring at a high level, likely away from Arsenal.

The Gunners are willing to take a financial hit on the full-back, too. Separate reports have claimed that Arsenal sporting director Edu will sell Tierney if a £10-15m bid comes in.

Tierney is not the only player who might leave Arsenal before the transfer deadline. Nottingham Forest have agreed personal terms with Eddie Nketiah as they advance towards the striker’s capture.

Three Prem clubs are battling for another player Arteta doesn’t trust, too, with Fabrizio Romano explaining how a deal can be completed.

READ MORE: Three Prem clubs converge on Arsenal star Arteta doesn’t trust, as Romano explains how transfer can be unlocked