Arsenal could face a potential blow in their January pursuit of Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans. The Gunners are pondering the possibility of bolstering Mikel Arteta's midfield next month ahead of the second half of the season.
Tielemans has continually been tipped to join the club over the past year after a string of impressive performances for Brendan Rodgers' side. His contract expires in June and has rejected numerous fresh terms over the past two years.
football.london revealed in the summer that Arsenal were prepared to wait in the hope that Tielemans runs down his deal with Leicester to enable them to acquire his services on a free transfer. It was reported that the Foxes were demanding a fee in the region of £32million in the summer but that figure will be drastically lower next month.
READ MORE: Arsenal can still pull off £32m Youri Tielemans transfer gamble - but only on one condition
There had been hope that Edu would manage to sign Tielemans in January when it emerged that their Premier League rivals were prepping a £39.5million bid for World Cup star Azzedine Ounahi. The Angers central midfielder played a key role in his nation's historic run to the semi-finals and saw his stock rise intensively with his performances in Qatar.
It was understood that Angers were expecting offers for the 22-year-old and Leicester seemed as though they were leading the race. However, reports in Italy today suggest otherwise. Foot Mercato have claimed Serie A giants Napoli and Inter Milan have joined the race for Ounahi.
The report claims that the player is 'leaning towards' a move to Italy, with Champions League football on offer for this season and next. Napoli are understood to be keen on bringing Ounahi as a replacement for Diego Demme - who is close to joining Salernitana on loan.
Should Leicester miss out on the midfielder in January, it may block any attempt from Arsenal to bring Tielemans to north London sooner rather than later. But as was their stance in August, the Gunners are more than happy to sign the former AS Monaco man for free in the summer.
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