On-alert Newcastle are weighing up a move for Southampton's Kyle Walker-Peters as an alternative option to Scotland standout Kieran Tierney.
The 25-year-old appeared poised to join the Toon revolution amid limited minutes for Arsenal last season, however, it appears Eddie Howe is weighing up alternative targets to provide competition to hometown hero Dan Burn. The Daily Mail state Newcastle decision makers value the versatility of Walker-Peters – with the England international able to play at both right and left-back.
And it could be a double dip on the south coast as they are also in talks to secure the services of Saints right-back Tino Livramento. The 20-year-old has proved a smash-hit at Southampton and it appears unlikely Chelsea will take up their £25m buy-back for their former academy player of the year. And the Chronicle reports outcast Ryan Fraser could be used as a makeweight after falling foul of his manager.
Howe remains a major admirer of the former Celtic star but Newcastle appear keen to exhaust all their options in the search of new faces to join marquee arrival Sandro Tonali from Milan. And that has led him to other end of the country with Livramento and Walker-Peters targeted ahead of their assault on the Champions League.
There's no guarantee Tierney's Arsenal story has reached an end game, of course, with a shift to a 3-5-2 mooted for next season and the £25m left-back front and centre of their campaign to promote the club's new home kit. Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey appear set for the exit door and those departures could offset the financial burden of the pursuit for Jurrien Timber, Kai Havertz and Declan Rice.
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