Aston Villa have been encouraged to sign Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney, with it reportedly “expected” that he will “move on” in the summer.
The Scotsman moved to the Premier League in 2019 as he joined Arsenal from Celtic for around £25m.
Tierney hit the ground running at the London club as he adapted to life in the Premier League quickly.
Injuries have got in the way of his progress though as he missed a few months of action last season as a result of a knee issue.
Arsenal strengthened at left-back in the summer as they brought in Oleksandr Zinchenko from rivals Manchester City.
The Ukraine international has been preferred by Mikel Arteta for much of this season and he has been one of the club’s main leaders this term.
Arsenal have benefitted from Zinchenko’s arrival but Tierney has subsequently fallen down the pecking order.
The 25-year-old has been restricted to just four starts in the Premier League this term as he has played second fiddle to Zinchenko.
CBS Sports journalist James Benge is reported that there is a “growing expectation” that Tierney will “move on” in the summer.
“There is this growing expectation at Arsenal right now that Kieran Tierney could move in the summer,” Benge said (via talkSPORT).
“I don’t think Arsenal would push him out the exit door but now he’s not a guaranteed starter. I think if the right offer came in, all parties are kind of thinking this is something that might happen, not guaranteed.
“In that case, what you could see is Fresneda coming in to play alongside Ben White as the two right-backs. Then Tomiyasu actually basically becomes the back-up left-back. It’s a role he’s played quite a bit for Arteta.
“It wouldn’t shock me if Arsenal were willing to do the same thing as Dortmund and loan Fresneda back. Tierney wins his Premier League medal maybe and moves on.”
Stan Collymore thinks Tierney would be a great signing for Aston Villa as he would be an “upgrade” on former Everton man Lucas Digne.
“If it is true that the Gunners want to offload him, I really hope Aston Villa go in for him,” Collymore told Caught Offside.
“It would make sense as well because I don’t think Lucas Digne is going to be there much longer. And although the Frenchman has done alright since he joined, Tierney is definitely an upgrade.”
Ex-Gunners boss Unai Emery is Villa’s new manager and he is on track to guide the Premier League side to a top-half finish this season.
A move for Tierney is unlikely though as they have spent around £11m to sign left-back Alex Moreno from Real Betis this month.
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