Sources: Celtic ace agrees personal terms with new club, triple-your-money & bumper signing-on
By Wayne Veysey
Kieran Tierney is edging closer to the Celtic exit door after agreeing personal terms with Arsenal, Football Insider has learned.
The Scottish giants have held extensive talks with the Premier League big hitters over the £20million-plus transfer of the left-back, 22, before the transfer cut-off on 8 August.
A deal has not yet been agreed but negotiations are continuing and Arsenal are hopeful of signing Tierney in the next three weeks following their concerted bid to get him.
An Arsenal source has told Football Insider that Tierney has agreed personal terms with the club, including a bumper signing-on fee and a five-year contract that will triple his current £25,000-a-week wages.
The lucrative package is enough to entice the defender south of the border and now it is a matter of the two clubs agreeing the structure of the transfer fee.
Celtic are still not content with the deal offered by Arsenal, who want to split the cash across instalments to lower their initial outlay.
The Scottish treble winners are insisting on a bigger up-front payment as they look to secure the money that can enable them to have a late-window spending flurry.
Significantly, Arsenal manager Unai Emery is a huge admirer of Tierney and is convinced he has the potential to be one of the outstanding left-backs in the world.
The Celtic academy product, who has four years remaining on the six-year contract in 2017, has already won five league titles among 11 major trophies at his hometown club.
The Scottish giants have signed replacement for Tierney by recruiting Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo earlier in the summer.