EXCLUSIVE: Man City to approach Arsenal over Kieran Tierney transfer

Steve Kay

• Updated: 18 Apr 2023 09:44 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester City are following Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney with a view to making a potential summer transfer for the Scotland international, FootballTransfers can exclusively reveal.

Tierney has struggled for game time at the Emirates Stadium this season following the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko, although he did feature from the beginning of Sunday’s 2-2 Premier League draw against West Ham.

With his opportunities with the Gunners limited, the 25-year-old was courted by Man City manager Pep Guardiola during the January transfer window following the fall out with Joao Cancelo, who subsequently moved out on loan to Bayern Munich. Indeed, Guardiola first spoke to Gunners boss Mikel Arteta during the World Cup.

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Arsenal rejected City’s move at the time because Tierney was their only recognised cover at left-back, while selling to a title rival was always likely to prove problematic in the middle of the season.

The interest from the defending Premier League champions remains ahead of the summer, at which point they will seek to secure a transfer for the Scotland international.

Any deal, though, is set to hinge on Arsenal’s asking price for the player. It is not clear what this might be set at.

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How much is Kieran Tierney worth?

Tierney has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €38.6 million, but it is likely that City will have to pay a premium for the versatile defender, who hit a peak valuation of €63.6m in November 2021.

Mikel Arteta wants Tierney to remain at Arsenal but will not stand in the defender’s way if he wants to leave the club in the summer.

Tierney has played 118 times for Arsenal, scoring five goals and assisting 14 more.

His technical attributes make him a player that Guardiola appreciates, but on top of this his versatility across the defence is impressive, having turned out at centre-back and even right-back for Scotland at international level.

Arsenal's priority this summer is in landing a major midfield signing, such as West Ham's Declan Rice, and it may be that selling Tierney is seen as a way of raising finances for such an acquisition.