Arsenal's pursuit of Atletico Madrid defender Kieran Trippier seems like a waste of time, according to journalist Dean Jones.
What's the latest transfer news involving Kieran Trippier?
It was recently reported that a swap deal between Arsenal and Atletico for Trippier and Gunners right-back Hector Bellerin remains a genuine prospect this summer.
Jones, however, appears to disagree and believes that the 33-cap England international is far more interested in moving to Manchester United.
Fellow journalist Pete O'Rourke revealed earlier this month that he expects a deal for Trippier to move to Old Trafford to go right down to the summer deadline, which will be next Tuesday evening.
However, O'Rourke also claimed Trippier's more than happy to be patient to join United and is simply waiting for the green light from his current club, who won the La Liga title last season.
What has Jones said about Arsenal's interest in Trippier?
Speaking on The Football Terrace, Jones claimed that the Gunners' interest in Trippier "seems like a waste of time" for a couple of key reasons.
In addition to the fact Arsenal don't want to pay Trippier's £34m release clause, the player himself is also far more interested in completing a move to Manchester United.
Speaking to host Terry Flewers, he said: "They’re in for Kieran Trippier which seems like a waste of time to me personally and from what I’m told, because they don’t want to go near his current valuation. I think his release clause is something like £34m, they don’t want to pay that.
"But also Manchester United are interested in Kieran Trippier and if Trippier does leave Atletico, he wants to join Man United, he doesn’t want to join Arsenal.
"So it is genuine interest from Arsenal in him and they are looking to see how close they can get to finding an agreement but they’re not going to go as high as £30m-odd.
"But ultimately even if they were to settle at… say £23m, from what I’m told Man United would probably match that and he would join Man United."
Check out what Jones said in full about the Trippier situation in the video below...
Why would Trippier prefer a move to Old Trafford?
The most obvious reason is that United will be in the Champions League this season and look set to be involved in the Premier League title race after last term's runner-up finish.
Arsenal, in comparison, aren't involved in any European competition right now and ended the 2020/21 campaign in eighth place.
On a more personal note, it's worth bearing in mind that Trippier was born in nearby Bury and came through the ranks at Manchester City's academy.
Set to turn 31 next month, it would make sense that Trippier would prefer to see out the latter portion of his career living closer to home.
Trippier has also already experienced north London life with Tottenham, and crossing that rivalry could well be an issue for him out of respect to his former club.