THE Kieran Tierney transfer saga has taken a new twist with Arsenal boss Unai Emery personally intervening to insist his club up their offer for the left-back.
Celtic knocked back a second bid of £25million from the Londoners because the terms and add-ons were unacceptable.
It is thought the initial payment from the Londoners is £18million – £2million short of CQN’s estimate at the weekend– with the remainder being paid after a specific amount of targets were achieved.
Chief executive Peter Lawwell immediately rejected the enhanced offer after originally saying no to a £15million fee more than three weeks ago for the 22-year-old Scotland international defender.
Now, after Emery’s intervention, it is believed though the Emirates outfit will return with a restructured offer that will meet the demands of the eight-in-a-row champions.
The Spaniard’s impatience at his club’s transfer dealings has been matched by Gunners’ fans, with their club’s only signing this summer being 18-year-old forward Gabriel Martinelli from Ituano.
Arsenal supporters groups have united to issue a statement expressing their disenchantment with the way the club is being run by American owner Stan Kroenke, saying that it feels as though he is treating their club like “an investment vehicle”.
It read: “Arsenal have invested money in recent years, but their approach to both buying players and paying wages looks uncoordinated and appears to lack strategy.
“There has also been a lot of turnover in the senior football personnel. A strong board would be proactively managing this.”
