Arsenal are asking for more than £30m for the signing of Kieran Tierney, with Newcastle United leading the race ahead of Aston Villa.

The Telegraph report that Arsenal are currently asking for more than £30m to sell Kieran Tierney to Newcastle United this summer.

Various sources are reporting that clubs appear to be putting a “Newcastle tax” on their asking prices, demanding more money from the Saudi Arabian-owned club than other interested parties.

But in Tierney’s case, the fee makes sense. Newcastle are trying to rival Arsenal in the top four and the Champions League, and Tierney has other interest from Aston Villa, as well as a long contract in north London.

Arsenal are under no obligation to sell to Newcastle, and they’ll want to be properly compensated if they do.

The i newspaper reported last month that Newcastle had put together three distinct transfer plans for the summer – one without European football, one with Europa League/Conference League, and one with Champions League football.

Tierney is understood to feature highly on the third list, and Newcastle subsequently confirmed their qualification to next season’s Champions League.

As a result, Tierney is expected to be one of Eddie Howe’s top targets in the upcoming window.

Back in March, the Evening Standard reported that Tierney was open to a move to Newcastle this summer, assuming his game-time with Arsenal didn’t improve before then.

Though the defender hasn’t necessarily been a starter for Arsenal this season, Tierney is still a key part of the squad, making 36 appearances in all competitions.

But there’s no doubt Oleksandr Zinchenko is the first-choice left-back at the moment, limiting Tierney to just six Premier League starts.

Even with Zinchenko out at the end of the campaign, Mikel Arteta opted to switch up his system and use Jakub Kiwior at left-back rather than bringing Tierney in.

A summer move seems likely, but the clubs after Tierney’s signature will have to pay up.