Real Sociedad decide against permanent deal for Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney?

Arsenal have reportedly been dealt a blow in their efforts to cash in on Kieran Tierney.

While the defender was provided with regular game time under Mikel Arteta during 2022-23, the majority of his appearances came from the substitutes' bench.

That led to the player being frequently linked with a departure during the summer transfer window, the Gunners allegedly being keen to recoup in the region of £25m.

However, despite reported interest from a number of Premier League clubs, the Scotland international would eventually make the switch to Real Sociedad on a season-long loan deal.

The hope had been that Tierney would establish himself at the Spanish outfit and impress in both La Liga and the Champions League throughout the season.

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Instead, the 26-year-old has made a total of just five starts and was sidelined for almost two months due to injury.

Although the versatile full-back has now recovered from the hamstring issue in question, he was only named on the substitutes' bench for Sociedad's last two fixtures.

Tierney was not introduced in either fixture and he will be hoping that will change over the coming weeks before Spain's winter break.

Nevertheless, according to TEAMtalk, as per Fichajes, Sociedad officials have already decided that they will not try to sign Tierney on a full-time basis.

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Tierney still has over two-and-a-half years remaining on his contract and there would likely be an impasse regarding a transfer fee, with Sociedad seemingly not prepared to pay big on a player who has represented them on just five occasions.

Arsenal and Mikel Arteta would have been hoping to sell Tierney in order to boost their position with FFP at a time when they are considering their own additions.

The report adds that the likes of Aston Villa and Celtic may start to monitor the situation ahead of reigniting their interest in the summer.

There is also the possibility of Tierney being reintegrated back into the Arsenal squad should they not receive any bids that meet their valuation.