Aston Villa are reportedly keen on Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney in what could be a potential reshuffle in the left-back position.
Changes to the Villa squad are expected this summer, with Unai Emery getting the opportunity to make key new signings to strengthen where needed.
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While the Spanish tactician has already addressed the left-back role with the signing of Alex Moreno in January, who has proven to be an excellent addition thus far and has firmly established himself in the Villa starting line-up, there could be more changes made in that role.
According to The Telegraph, Villa are interested in Tierney this summer, although we would seemingly have to compete with Newcastle Utd for his signature, with our Premier League rivals also said to be keen.
The 25-year-old has made 32 appearances across all competitions for Arsenal so far this season, but it’s been in a limited role under Mikel Arteta, and so the report above suggests that he is expected to leave the Gunners this summer.
Time will tell if that’s for a move to Villa, but ultimately if a swoop did materialise, it would surely raise question marks over Lucas Digne’s future at the club.
With Moreno now our top choice and regular starter, Emery is seemingly looking for reliable and high-level depth and competition, which is what Digne is currently providing.
However, it has been touted that the Frenchman is one of the highest earners at the club after his arrival from Everton last year, and so in terms of managing resources and being financially smart, it doesn’t make a great deal of sense to keep him around if he’s primarily on the bench and we can identify a solid alternative.
In turn, a move for Tierney could spark a reshuffle with a possible exit for Digne, as we also have Ashley Young as a versatile option to play there if needed – assuming he pens a contract extension – while we’ll also have youth products such as Ben Chrisene pushing to secure a future in the first-team moving forward as well.
That’s a lot of pieces to be moved though for it all to fall into place, and so initially it will be interesting to see if our reported interest in Tierney leads to an official offer in the coming weeks or months.