UNAI EMERY is reportedly eyeing a reunion with Kieran Tierney at Aston Villa.
The 51-year-old Spaniard has performed a stunning job since replacing Steven Gerrard in the Villa Park dug-out in October.
Emery is now closing in on bringing European football back to Villa for the first time in 13 years with the manager already looking for reinforcements to bolster his squad.
And now a fresh report from the Daily Mail claims that Arsenal’s 25-year-old left-back is also on his transfer wishlist.
Emery brought Scottish international Tierney to the Emirates back in 2019 while he was in charge of the Gunners.
The ex-Celtic ace became a big fan favourite in North London but he has been limited to just five starts for the Premier League title challengers this term.
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He suffered a serious knee injury last season, leading to boss Mikel Arteta bringing in Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City in the summer and the Ukrainian has made the full-back spot his own.
And now Tierney could decide to try and push for a move elsewhere in order to get more regular action with his former manager keen.
However, Tierney is also attracting interest from elsewhere in England.
Sun Sport exclusively revealed that Newcastle are confident of landing the ace with Eddie Howe on the lookout for a new left-back.
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And title rivals City are also believed to be keen on snapping him up too.
Meanwhile, Emery knows that failing to qualify for Europe could have a serious impact on the calibre of player he is able to bring in this summer.
He said: “Maybe, yes, but it’s not changing the mind I have, the idea we spoke about.
“We want to create a strong structure here, a strong mentality. You have to build a team like a family.
“If we are in Europe – we will add some possibility to take away trophies, playing more matches, for me it will be fantastic.
“If it’s not this year, my idea and objective is the same – try to play in Europe with Aston Villa.
“Not only just to play in Europe but I want to play in the Champions League with Aston Villa.”
Villa head to Wolves today having dropped to eighth following the midweek action but are only a point behind sixth-placed Brighton.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk