Newcastle confident of Kieran Tierney transfer despite Aston Villa interest with Arsenal to use money for Declan Rice

NEWCASTLE believe they are in pole position to beat off interest from Aston Villa and sign Kieran Tierney, according to reports.

And Arsenal are planning to put the money raised by selling the Scotland international towards bringing in Declan Rice from West Ham.

GettyNewcastle are confident of beating Aston Villa in the race to sign Kieran Tierney[/caption]

Newcastle are looking to bolster their squad ahead of their return to Champions League action next term and have been linked with the 25-year-old for months.

But they face competition from Villa, who qualified for the Europa Conference League, as Unai Emery targets a reunion with the left-back.

Emery brought Tierney to the Emirates from Celtic in 2019 for £25m while he was in charge of the Gunners.

The ex-Hoops ace became a big fan-favourite in North London but his match action was limited this term following the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Now Tierney could decide to push for a move elsewhere with Arsenal also looking to offload several fringe stars to raise money for some big additions of their own.

The Times has offered an update on the situation, and they claim Eddie Howe’s Newcastle “are confident” of landing Tierney despite the interest from Villa.

FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS

Arsenal are believed to be demanding at least £30m for the defender – although they are so far unwilling to meet West Ham’s £100m-plus valuation of Rice.

The Hammers captain, 24, looks set to depart the London Stadium this summer as he enters the final 12 months of his contract.

David Moyes recently admitted that there is a good chance” his influential skipper could leave the club at the end of this season – with James Ward-Prowse lined up as a possible replacement.

Arsenal and Manchester United have been long-term admirers of Rice, with the Emirates side once the favourites to land him in a club-record transfer.

Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel was also weighing up a move for the Hammers ace.

We reported last week how the newly-crowned Bundesliga champions were preparing to step-up their pursuit of the England midfielder.

We later reported that Rice will prioritise a move to the Premier League as he prepares to reject Bayern’s advances.

Arsenal, who want Rice to replace the departing Granit Xhaka, are now set to make an opening offer of £90m for the ace, which may also speed up Tierney’s departure.

ARSENAL TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: Stay up to date with all the latest transfer news and rumours from the Emirates