NEWCASTLE UNITED will make Kieran Tierney a key summer transfer target – but the Magpies will have to pay at least £25m to prise the full-back from Arsenal.

Eddie Howe acknowledged the need to strengthen Newcastle’s squad this summer when he spoke ahead of his side’s defeat to Manchester City last weekend, and the Magpies head coach has already held a series of meetings with the rest of his recruitment team to discuss intended targets.

While Dan Burn has slotted in impressively at left-back this season, there is an acceptance that the North-Easterner is not really a natural full-back. Matt Targett is an alternative option, but the 27-year-old has remained on the bench since recovering from injury last month and is not regarded as a long-term answer on the left of the back four.

The purchase of an attack-minded left-back will be a key priority this summer, and Tierney is currently regarded as the number one option, both because of his proven ability levels and the likelihood of him being available in the close season given his lack of involvement with Arsenal during the current campaign.

Despite having been a key performer under Mikel Arteta last season, Tierney has barely featured in the Gunners’ starting side since Oleksandr Zinchenko moved to the Emirates from Manchester City in the summer.

Tierney has made just four Premier League starts in the whole of the current campaign, the most recent of which came back on Boxing Day when Arsenal beat West Ham. He was an unused substitute at the weekend as the Gunners staged a dramatic recovery to see off Bournemouth.

Arteta has not fallen out with Tierney, but there is an acceptance amongst the Arsenal hierarchy that the Scotland international is unlikely to be happy with another bit-part role next season, and the Gunners boss will not stand in the defender’s way if he expresses a desire to leave this summer.

However, having paid £25m to sign Tierney from Celtic in the summer of 2019, Arsenal officials are adamant they will not be making a loss if he moves on ahead of the start of next season.

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With Tierney contracted to the Emirates until 2026, £25m is regarded as the minimum point at which Arsenal will be willing to do business. It remains to be seen whether Newcastle regard that as a realistic valuation for a player who boasts 35 senior international caps with Scotland, but who is clearly out of favour at his current club.

Newcastle are set to revisit a couple of long-standing targets this summer, with James Maddison and Youri Tielemans still strongly of interest after they were floated as potential transfer options in January.

The Leicester City pair are currently embroiled in a relegation battle, with the Foxes’ weekend defeat to Southampton having left them just two points clear of the bottom three.

Clearly, Leicester’s fate in the remaining two-and-a-half months of the season will play a crucial role in determining what happens with Maddison and Tielemans this summer, and determining their price if they are sold.

Newcastle will be active pursuers whatever happens, with central-midfield another obvious key priority area for the Magpies given the failure to replace the departed Jonjo Shelvey in the closing days of the January window.

The Magpies had a number of bids for Maddison rejected last summer, but are expected to return to the negotiating table with a new offer once the window reopens.