Arsenal's hopes of signing Celtic defender Kieran Tierney this summer could be dealt a huge blow, amid reports Napoli are set to sell their current left-back to raise funds to sign the 22-year-old.
The Gunners are keen to sign the full-back this summer, and had a £15million offer turned down by the Scottish champions earlier in the transfer window.
But while the Gunners were hopeful that a deal may be struck with Celtic at around £20million, Arsenal now face fresh competition from the Serie A side.
According to the Telegraph , Napoli could hijack the Gunners' move for Tierney, with reports suggesting that the Italian side are looking to sell their current left-back Mario Rui to create space in their squad, and raise funds to try and sign the Celtic man.
And that could spell bad news for the Gunners, with the possibility that the increased interest in Tierney could lead to a bidding war, as Celtic look to receive an offer closer to the asking price of £25million for the player.
Tierney has been on the radar for Arsenal for some time, and the Gunners' hopes of signing the left-back looked to have been boosted earlier this week when the Scottish giants signed a potential replacement for Tierney in the shape of Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, who joined from Rapid Vienna.
That move potentially paved the way for his departure, with Tierney's agent Allan Preston suggesting that it would now be for a club to match Celtic's valuation for a transfer to go through.
Speaking on Radio Scotland’s Sportsound programme he said: “It is all down to Celtic, if they get a price that they believe is the correct value for Kieran Tierney he could possibly be on his way. No one has hit that price yet.
“I know Kieran really well, I had some food with him the other day, he is such an unassuming young man.
"Will there be a time for Kieran Tierney to go? I think that there will be, if it’s just now it will be upto the clubs involved. Arsenal, Napoli or whoever to then put the money on the table and make Celtic think about this.
“If he is on his way he’s on his way. If there is a time for Kieran to go it will be upto Celtic, Peter Lawwell and the board. They have signed a left back but they do need one because Izaguirre is away.”
However, the latest reports regarding Napoli suggest that Arsenal will have a battle on their hands if they are to sign one of their top transfer targets this summer.
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