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Arsenal leading the race to sign Tielemans this January

By Ritayan Chatterjee on December 16, 2022

Arsenal are reportedly leading the race to sign Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans in the upcoming January transfer window, as per the Spanish outlet Sport.

The 25-year-old was heavily linked with a move away from the King Power Stadium last summer and the north London club was thought to be his potential destination.

However, the Gunners never opened formal negotiations with the Foxes to sign the midfielder and in the end, the Belgian stayed at the east Midlands club.

Tielemans’ current contract is set to expire at the end of this season and he has seemingly rejected an opportunity to sign an extension. Therefore, he is likely to leave Leicester for a cut-price deal in January or for free next summer.

According to the report by Sport, Barcelona are looking to bolster their squad in January by acquiring the service of Tielemans for a bargain fee amid their financial difficulties. However, the publication suggests that Arsenal are in pole position to sign the highly-rated midfielder next month.

Youri Tielemans to Arsenal

The report further claims that the Gunners have been keeping tabs on the Belgium international for a long time and they are set to make a move for him this winter.

Sport also says that Leicester could cash in on the midfielder this January and ask for a fee of around £17m – which is almost half of what they paid to sign him back in 2019 – to sell their star man in fear of losing him for free next summer.

Arsenal were keen on strengthening their engine room last summer and it was widely reported that Tielemans was their top target. However, Arteta’s side never made any concrete approach to sign him rather surprisingly, they tried to purchase Aston Villa star Douglas Luiz on deadline day.

But, the Villans kept hold of the Brazilian and in the end, the Gunners could not broker a deal for a new midfielder before the window slammed shut.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are expected to reignite their interest in signing a new midfielder this January and Tielemans would be a shrewd purchase. So, it will be interesting to see whether the Emirates outfit will make an attempt to sign him this time around or once again look at other targets to strengthen the engine room.