West Ham have missed trick amid transfer news on exit-bound Arsenal ace
West Ham United should have gone all-out to sign Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney, who is set to return to boyhood club Celtic.
The Hammers are out for defensive reinforcements having conceded 35 goals in 19 Premier League games so far this term, despite already heavily investing in their backline for troubled head coach Julen Lopetegui.
Arsenal received an enquiry about Tierney, 27, from the London Stadium [TBR Football, 3 January] – but it looks as if the Scotland international has his heart set on a return to Parkhead, where he won eight domestic honours before joining the Gunners in 2019.
It can’t be helped to wonder that if Tim Steidten and Lopetegui wanted Tierney that much – a player that when fit could drastically improve the side – they could have trumped Celtic on personal terms to at least give the player a more difficult dilemma.
Kieran Tierney turns down West Ham for Celtic return
It’s well-known, of course, that Tierney’s injury record is extremely sketchy. It marred much of his time at Arsenal, a club he leaves without having fulfilled his true potential.
Perhaps that now has realigned the left-back’s career priorities, preferring to return to the ground where he is worshipped rather than strive for the top trophies and regular Premier League action, but there could be time for that later in his career.
There is an admiration for Tierney among all those accused of being mercenaries in football – clubs and players alike – but with Emerson now north of 30 and with 18 months left on his contract and other defensive areas frankly a mess at the moment, a deal for Tierney – even on loan – could have sufficed to shore things up a bit.
Reservations over his fitness are a huge factor. However, Arsenal had already made it public that Tierney’s contract would not be extended past its summer expiry, and a January exit was feasible to potentially recoup a small return on the £25million signing from nearly six years ago.
It would have been cheap and low-risk for a West Ham side who spent hugely in the summer, meaning toeing the PSR line becomes more of a consideration. An athlete and a reliable performer on his day, maybe there was still a bit of Premier League life left in Tierney.
But all things considered, all parties move on in the knowledge he will be settled back at Celtic Park.
In other West Ham news, Ray Parlour shares his latest fear for the Hammers side.
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