Kieran Tierney has joined a growing list of reported Arsenal left-back targets this summer, after news of Brendan Rodgers’ potential departure.
With Nacho Monreal’s injury problems, his age, and the fact he’s running down his deal, it could be time to invest in a new full-back on the left-hand side. Let’s have a look at the options linked to an Arsenal transfer.
Kieran Tierney
- Age: 21
- Current club: Celtic
- Contract until: 2023
- Market value: £11.25m
Reports today suggest that Arsenal could go back in for Kieran Tierney this summer, a player they’ve been chasing for a long time now. The club made a £10m offer for the defender when Brendan Rodgers first joined Celtic, but it was knocked back by the former Liverpool boss.
Now that Rodgers is on the way out, Football.London write that Tierney’s loyalty to Celtic could be tested. He reportedly ‘remains on Arsenal’s radar’ and would cost around £30m. That’s a fairly large fee considering the recent reports about the size of Arsenal’s budget, but signing the 21-year-old could be a worthwhile investment for the future.
Arsenal aren’t the only club linked to a move, with Manchester United, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur also in the mix. However, given Tierney knows the Gunners have a genuine long-standing interest in him, that could help convince him they’d be his best bet. We’ll see.
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Alejandro Grimaldo
- Age: 23
- Current club: Benfica
- Contract until: 2021
- Market value: £25.2m
Arsenal reportedly sent a club official to watch Alejandro Grimaldo recently, and they’ve been scouting him for a while. The 23-year-old Benfica defender comes with a tasty €60m release clause which seems too rich for Arsenal, especially when you consider the host of clubs linked with the left-back who can also play on the wing.
As detailed by Sport Witness, Juventus, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Everton, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Milan, Sevilla, Manchester City, and Real Valladolid all had scouts at the same Europa League game as the Gunners and no doubt some of them were there to watch Grimaldo.
However, Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo wrote in February that despite previous reports other teams could be interested in a move for Grimaldo, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid remain the two best-positioned clubs for his signature.
Grimaldo is enjoying a very impressive season in Portugal, so he could be a good replacement for Nacho Monreal, particularly given his age. The Spaniard’s biggest strength is his passing, but he’s also a strong dribbler, crosser and he holds onto the ball well.
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Ben Chilwell
- Age: 22
- Current club: Leicester City
- Contract until: 2024
- Market value: £22.5m
Chilwell has been linked with Arsenal a lot in previous years, and those links have started to resurface this season despite the full-back’s new deal to stay in Leicester.
That’s as a result of the youngster’s impressive Premier League performances, including one against the Gunners, where he forced the opening goal in off Hector Bellerin.
Chilwell is strong in the air, a competent dribbler and a good chance creator, which are important attributes if you’re going to play in an Arsenal team. When the team’s full-backs aren’t making chances, the whole side suffers, as we’ve seen on a few occasions already this season.
If Chilwell is interested in making a step up and Arsenal are willing to pay a premium to buy him out of his contract, he could be worth the investment.
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Ryan Sessegnon
- Age: 18
- Current club: Fulham FC
- Contract until: 2020
- Market value: £31.5m
18-year-old Sessegnon is one of the rising stars of English football. Despite his age, he’s already made 109 appearances for Fulham, scoring 25 goals and assisting 17.
The youngster can play anywhere along the left-hand side, and he’s mostly split his time between left-back and left-midfield/wing this season.
That could suit Arsenal perfectly, given their play style involves full-backs getting forward a lot. For example, Hector Bellerin was a right-winger before he joined the club.
According to Goal, Arsenal have been “keeping a close eye” on Sessegnon. They aren’t the only ones though. Reports late last year suggested Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham have all spent time scouting the youngster since his breakthrough.
That interest is only going to have increased now that he’s playing regularly in the Premier League. It wouldn’t be easy to sign the Fulham man, but it could be well worth it if he reaches his potential.
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Jose Gaya
- Age: 23
- Current club: Valencia CF
- Contract until: 2023
- Market value: £36m
At just 23 years of age, Gaya has already played 176 matches for Valencia’s first team. This season he’s once again a regular in the starting eleven, making 22 league appearances in their 25 matches so far.
There were reports last year that Gaya’s release clause would drop to £25.4m over the summer, a very decent price for such a young and experienced player. However, this was increased to £88m when he extended his deal back in May, so some negotiation would be required to bring down the price.
Manchester United and Chelsea are reportedly both also in the race for his signature alongside Arsenal. The Gunners might have an advantage though, as they’ve dealt with Valencia a lot in the past.
In the summer of 2017, Arsenal sold Gabriel Paulista to the Spanish side. They then followed that up with the transfer of Francis Coquelin in January. Before that, Arsene Wenger signed Shkodran Mustafi the previous year. Perhaps the Spanish international could be the next transfer in the saga.
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Junior Firpo
- Age: 22
- Current club: Real Betis
- Contract until: 2023
- Market value: £22.5m
Spanish outlet AS report that Firpo already has multiple suitors, including Arsenal, Torino and Manchester City. They add that City have the advantage that Firpo’s agent is Pep Guardiola’s brother. Currently, the Real Betis man has a contract in Spain until 2023 and a release clause of €50m (£44.3m).
The Mirror wrote late last year that Arsenal were ‘likely’ to move for a new left-back either in January or next summer, and Firpo fits the bill. Meanwhile, The S*n added that the Gunners are ‘extremely keen’ on signing the 22-year-old.
Both publications cite concerns over the ability of Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac to perform regularly next season. Particularly with their injury problems, Monreal’s age and the Spaniard’s contract coming to an end.
This season so far, Firpo has been playing as a left wing-back for Betis. As a result, he’s been able to get forward more often, and even scored one and assisted one against Barcelona.
We’ll see if the Gunners follow up their interest in the summer.
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Kenedy
- Age: 22
- Current club: Newcastle United (on loan from Chelsea)
- Contract until: 2020
- Market value: £9m
Kenedy has mostly played in left-midfield since joining Newcastle United, but in the past, he made most of his appearances at left wing-back or left-back for Chelsea. That could help him fit in at Arsenal, as the club tend to use full-backs that like to get forward, and have used wing-backs on one or two occasions under Unai Emery.
The Brazilian is currently on loan at Newcastle, as mentioned, but he has less than two years left on his parent club’s contract this summer. He has one goal and one assist in 24 games so far during his second loan spell with the club.
If Sarri can’t offer him game time, as he clearly couldn’t this season, Kenedy might try and force a move away. That’s if the Italian is even still in charge by the summer.
According to reports from the Mirror earlier this year, Arsenal are interested in the 22-year-old, and they join Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain in chasing his signature.
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Faouzi Ghoulam
- Age: 28
- Current club: Napoli
- Contract until: 2022
- Market value: £22.5m
Faouzi Ghoulam is a bit older, and probably a bit more expensive, but he’s an option to come in and immediately challenge for a first-team spot, especially with the injury records of Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac.
The media linked the Algerian left-back with Arsenal a lot before the club eventually signed the Bosnian instead. With Monreal getting older though, a move could well be back on.
Then, last February, the Italian media reported that the main reason behind Napoli extending Ghoulam’s contract to 2022 was that they’d heard of interest from Arsenal. They were trying to “avoid any surprises” in the January window.
Ghoulam’s new deal has a €35m (£31m) release clause, which still isn’t a crazy amount to pay in today’s market.
When available, Ghoulam has shown a lot of quality, and he helped Napoli to 10 wins in 11 matches at the start of the last league season. He then spent a long time out with injury, but returned with a bang, assisting two goals in his first league start in December, and he’s made a further 10 appearances since then.
We’ll see if he can keep performing in the final few months of the season.