Newcastle United continue to be linked with Arsenal full-back Kieran Tierney, who has admitted he remains unsure where his future lies beyond the end of this summer's transfer window.
Is Kieran Tierney leaving Arsenal?
Tierney, a £25m signing from Celtic in August 2019, lost his place in the Arsenal side last season following the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City.
The Scotland international has been linked with a move away in the past two transfer windows, with Newcastle widely considered to be the favourites for his signature.
According to The Evening Standard, Newcastle remain interested in Tierney, despite spending close to £100m already this summer on Harvey Barnes and Sandro Tonali.
Asked about his future during Arsenal's pre-season tour of the United States, Tierney, who is set to fetch around £35m for his services, said: "It's not really up to me. I'm happy, I'm working hard every day and getting minutes. I'm just trying to do as well as I can."
How good is Kieran Tierney?
Newcastle do not have many weaknesses in their squad, but left-back is certainly an area that Eddie Howe could do with strengthening. Dan Burn, a centre-back by trade, played there 32 times in the Premier League last season and did a good job on the whole.
However, if the Toon are to push on from last season's fourth-place finish and make an impact in the Champions League, they need a top-class player in that position.
While Tierney may have been restricted to just six league starts last season, on top of 21 appearances from the substitutes' bench, he still showed what he is capable of when called upon.
Ironically, Tierney – who can himself also play centre-back – recorded very similar figures to Zinchenko last season in a number of key metrics. According to FBref's comparison tool, Zinchenko was the player ninth-most like Tierney across Europe's top five leagues.
Comparing Tierney and Burn's figures from last season must first be prefaced by the fact that both played in a couple of different positions, but the numbers still provide an indication of the two players' quality.
Tierney outperformed Burn in terms of tackles won per 90 minutes (1.25 v 1.10), interceptions per 90 (1.25 v 0.92) and recoveries per 90 (4.89 v 4.80) though the Newcastle fan favourite was stronger when it came to blocks per 90 (1.21 v 0.91) and aerial duels won percentage (69.4 v 25).
Ultimately, Howe must decide what type of player he wants playing down the left-hand side. In Burn, he has a player who is defensively solid and can offer the occasional attacking threat – albeit in a rather awkward manner – while Tierney is attack-minded but can also do a solid job defensively.
The fact Tierney has been restricted largely to substitute appearances of late means his stock has undoubtedly fallen, but it would be unfair to write him off just yet.
Tierney's versatility in particular, being able to play at full-back, wing-back or in central defence, could come in particularly handy for Howe. Just do not ask him to play as an inverted full-back, which is the reason he is not fancied by Mikel Arteta.
As former Scotland international Billy Dodds put it after watching Tierney play in a couple of different positions in the same game against Israel, the defender – on a reported £110k-a-week, according to Capology – remains an "outstanding" talent.
A move away from the Emirates Stadium may do Tierney's career a lot of good, though it is a transfer that could ultimately come back to haunt Arsenal should he shine at top-four rivals Newcastle.