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Arsenal lead race to sign Leicester star Youri Tielemans

By Ritayan Chatterjee on February 22, 2023

Arsenal are reportedly the ‘frontrunners’ to sign Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans next summer, as per Football Insider.

The 25-year-old’s current contract will expire at the end of this season and he has rejected an opportunity to sign an extension with the Foxes. So, he is set to leave the club for free in the summer.

It was thought that the Belgian was the Gunners’ primary target to bolster their engine room before the start of this season. But, despite being strongly linked with him, they didn’t make a concrete approach to sign the midfielder.

However, a recent report claimed that the north London club are still interested in Tielemans and are waiting until the end of this season before making a move in order to sign the 25-year-old for free.

Now, according to the report by Football Insider, Arsenal are ‘well placed’ to lure Tielemans to the Emirates Stadium next summer. But, they are likely to face tough competition from Newcastle United and Barcelona in securing the midfielder’s signature as they are also looking to take advantage of his current situation. However, the report states that the north London club are the favourite to get this deal done.

Tielemans to Arsenal

Despite signing Jorginho on the deadline from Chelsea this winter, it has widely been suggested that Arsenal still want to bolster their engine room next summer.

Declan Rice has been mentioned as their primary target, but Moises Caicedo, Martin Zubimendi and Tielemans have all been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium. It was previously reported that Mikel Arteta wants to bring in two new faces in midfield, with Rice and Caicedo being his preferred targets.

However, the Gunners are well-stacked in their midfield department as they have already got Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka, Jorginho, Mohamed Elneny and Albert Sambi Lokonga, who will return from a loan stint at the end of this season.

But, there may be an argument that other than the first-choice options, the rest may not be good enough to help the north London club in competing for the biggest honours going forward. So, it is justified to spend big and strengthen the midfield in the summer. And in that case, they will have to offload a couple of players to make room for new signings.

It remains to be seen what Mikel Arteta’s side’s exact plans are regarding strengthening the engine room. Tielemans – valued at around £35m by Transfermarkt – has showcased his talent over the last few years during his time with Leicester.

So, he would be a very good acquisition for Arsenal if they manage to win the race for him and signing a player of his quality for free would be a great piece of business.