Arsenal have had an opening bid for Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney turned down by the Scottish champions, who are demanding £25 million.
The Gunners tried to tempt Celtic into selling by offering fringe players like Carl Jenkinson, Emile-Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah as part of the deal, but the Glasgow side are holding out for a higher price for the 22 year old, who is under contract at Parkhead until 2023.
However, Celtic are not averse to selling him if the price is right, and Arsenal are expected to go back with an improved bid in the coming days.
Left-back has been long regarded as a problem for Arsenal. Nacho Monreal is now 33 and no longer as mobile as he was once was, whilst Sead Kolasinac, whilst adept at going forward as a wing-back, has deficiencies when it comes to the defensive side of his game.
Meanwhile, it is not clear how fit Tierney currently is, having had a double hernia operation during the close season.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.