Wanted Kieran Tierney is poised to land Celtic a transfer windfall after a proposed swap deal with Joao Cancelo was kiboshed.
The Scottish Premiership champions are understood to have inserted a 15 per cent sell-on fee when the Scotland international swapped his boyhood club for the Gunners in a £25million deal in 2019. But an exit from north London appears to be in the offing with Manchester City and Aston Villa tipped with a summer move. However, the strongest link comes from the north east with Newcastle expected to target Tierney.
There were fears a potential swap with Cancelo would wipe away any potential sell–on but Barcelona have emerged as the hot favourites to secure the City star who was banished to Bayern Munich on loan with Pep Guardiola taking executive action, in a bid to spark a side who are now closing in on the Treble. Tierney's future at Arsenal was cast into further doubt when he was overlooked for a start against Nottingham Forest despite Oleksandr Zinchecnko being absent through injury.
But Newcastle boss insists the next phase of his rousing Toon turnaround will come with a transfer caveat as he refuses to waver from his strict signing policy which targets players who fit his ethic. That will likely be no issue for Tierney who many pundits believe possesses the perfect profile to be a star at St James' Park.
Howe – speaking after securing Champions League football next season – said: "There is a small pool of players we can recruit. We have to recruit wisely, which we have done. This will be our toughest transfer window." Tierney remains under contract at Arsenal until 2026 and earns a reported £110,000 weekly wage after signing a bumper second contract after his early exploits with the Gunners.
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