One man who is being strong linked with a summer move to St James’ Park is Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney; and The Sun’s Tom Barclay has explained why a deal could make ‘perfect sense’ for both parties.
Barclay has revealed that Howe was ‘very close’ to signing the defender from Celtic back when he was Bournemouth boss, narrowly missing out in 2018 before he sealed a £25m move to the Emirates the following year.
The Scotsman has been out of favour so far this season with Oleksandr Zinchenko the preferred left-back option following his recent move from Manchester City.
This has sparked rumours that the 25-year-old could leave the Emirates in the summer, and with Newcastle in the market for a new full-back, it could be a perfect match.
Tierney has had his fitness problems over the years, but Barclay insists that he’s got himself back to full fitness this season and has simply suffered for game time due to Zinchenko’s solid form under Mikel Arteta.
With Dan Burn having his limitations in attack, Matt Targett struggling to stay fit and Jamal Lewis likely to be moved on, a move for Tierney feels like one to watch. He’s in need of a new challenge, has plenty experience, is a modern day full-back who is strong at both ends and is someone Howe is clearly a big admirer of.
Here’s what Barclay had to say about the potential move on Twitter:
