Tierney TWIST forces Arsenal into Kudus rethink

Robin Bairner

• 24 Jul 2023 08:50 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal’s hopes of making more major summer signings are in the balance with the news that Kieran Tierney may be left with just one serious summer transfer option.

Arsenal have spent their budget of around €200 million, with the arrivals of Kai Havertz from Chelsea, Jurrien Timber from Ajax and Declan Rice from West Ham burning through manager Mikel Arteta’s initial funds.

MORE: Chelsea's trump card to beat Arsenal to Kudus

The Gunners hope to land Ajax attacker Mohammed Kudus before the end of the transfer market, but this deal hinges on the Gunners being able to raise more funds via sales – with Scotland international defender Tierney thought to have been one of the players they were set to make big money from.

Competition for Kudus is set to be intense, with Manchester United having taken an interest in him in the past and Chelsea actively looking to attract him this summer. Arsenal, therefore, need a sizeable sum of money quickly to fund the deal.

The Gunners value Tierney at €35 million (£30m), entirely in line with his Expected Transfer Valuation (ETV) of €33.5m - a sizeable portion of any agreement for Kudus.

MORE: Folarin Balogun tells Arsenal his transfer stance

Newcastle cool Tierney interest

Newcastle have been strongly linked with a transfer move for the 26-year-old for some months, but their interest appears to be cooling with reports that the Magpies would breach Financial Fair Play (FFP) if they moved for the former Celtic man.

If the Magpies drop out of the race to sign Tierney, it means that the Gunners are unlikely to sell him this summer and in turn puts their ability to sign Kudus in doubt.

According to a report in the Daily Record, a return to Celtic is possible for Tierney, but the Scottish Premiership champions would have to smash their transfer record to match Arsenal’s valuation.

The implications for the Gunners are that they may have to work to sell some of their other fringe players this summer for significant fees if they are to land Kudus - or any other targets.

Among those players that Arteta may look to offload are striker Folarin Balogun, who built a strong reputation with a prolific season at Reims last term, and midfielder Thomas Partey, who has fallen down the pecking order thanks to Rice’s arrival at Arsenal.