Kieran Tierney can be a success in the Premier League if he joins Arsenal this summer, according to Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.
But only on one condition.
The Celtic left-back has been heavily linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium, with Gunners already having two bids rejected for the Scotland international as the Hoops stand firm on their £25m asking price.
There is every expectation that the north London outfit will finally reach an agreement over Tierney and head coach Unai Emery admitted over the weekend that he's still in the market for defensive reinforcements.
This is despite Arsenal closing in on a £72m deal for Lille winger Nicolas Pepe.
Football.london reported over the weekend that a deal for Tierney is believed to still be viable with discussions ongoing as the Gunners look to tie up a deal before deadline day in just over a week.
And van Dijk has backed his former teammate to shine in England, but says the 22-year-old has to make the step up.
"It is not an easy step to make and you have to play well to do it," van Dijk told the Daily Record . "But he has the qualities.
"Kieran made his debut against Dundee when I was at Celtic. I scored a free-kick up there and then he came on and helped us get the win."
One Gunners legend who is keen to see Tierney join before the start of the new Premier League season is Ray Parlour.
"The worry for me has always been the defence," he told talkSPORT . "We’re talking about [signing] good players but we aren’t talking about no defenders at the moment.
"Defenders is probably the key area where we are missing at the moment.
"We know about Koscielny’s situation, that has not been great for the club, him not going on tour.
"That is the area for me where they’ve got to address big time if they’re going to have any chance to get in that top four again.
"I really hope they get Tierney because I think he’s a real quality player."
