Newcastle United may finally find out what their chances are of landing Kieran Tierney this week, with Football Insider reporting that the defender will decide on his future in talks with Mikel Arteta.
What is the latest Newcastle United transfer news?
There has been plenty in the pipeline for the Toon this summer, with the Premier League outfit clearly realising the need to improve their squad for a campaign spent in both the top flight and European competition. The Magpies will be eager to ensure they can compete on all fronts, and that has led to interest in numerous players already this transfer window.
One of the deals that appears to be advancing is for Harvey Barnes, with Newcastle now in contact with Leicester over a potential deal for the winger. Having impressed for the Foxes during his time in the top tier, he could now find an escape route back to the Premier League with Eddie Howe's side.
There is no official bid on the table for the Englishman yet, and another forward option they are looking at is Federico Chiesa at Juventus, with the Toon set to open fresh discussions with the Italian outfit and the winger's representatives over a potential transfer deal.
Is Kieran Tierney joining Newcastle United?
However, one name that has seemingly been linked with a switch to St James' Park since the beginning of the summer is that of Kieran Tierney at Arsenal. The defender has been on Newcastle's wanted list since the end of the 2022/23 season, and it seems as though the St James' Park outfit are still in pole position to land him, despite competition from Celtic.
Now, according to a report from Football Insider, the 26-year-old is set to hold talks with current boss Arteta and his future "will be decided this week".
The left-back could still decide to stay on at the Emirates – and if he did, Newcastle will have to move on to alternative targets quite quickly, but the report reaffirms that the Magpies are still the front runners to get a deal done.
Tierney has been praised highly in the past by boss Mikel Arteta too, so perhaps the Spaniard won't want him to leave unless he doesn't see a place in the squad for him. He stated that the left-back was "fantastic" during a performance against Crystal Palace and despite affording him limited game time last season, the Scot did impress when given the chance.
Indeed, going by FBRef's metrics, comparing the 26 year-old with others in his position across the top five European leagues, Tierney ranks highly for non penalty goals, assists, progressive passes and progressive carries, suggesting he could bring a lot more attacking impetus to the left flank on Tyneside than Dan Burn, who is of course naturally a centre-back.
That is why there are teams seemingly so keen to snap up the player this summer – and if Newcastle do manage to land the 26-year-old, it could really bolster their backline ahead of a daunting season in four competitions.