Arsenal remain interested in signing Youri Tielemans football.london understands. The Belgian was touted as a potential early recruit by the Gunners, but their interest cooled as other areas became a higher priority.
Arsenal moved for Raphinha and Lisandro Martinez but both ended up elsewhere. However, the club pivoted quickly to land Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City.
The season starts tomorrow and the five games in August are very winnable fixtures for the club. This perhaps has reduced the pressure, in addition to doing some impressive early business, on getting more singings through the door.
READ MORE: Arsenal 'mystery winger' signing part of Edu's transfer 'rebalance' to close out the window
However, reports continue to grow to suggest that Leicester City continue to anticipate a bid from either Arsenal or Manchester United for the Belgian midfielder. One growing theory has been strengthened by Brendan Rodgers publicly explaining Leicester’s transfer status.
“I became aware towards the end of the season that the club would have to balance its books, then of course that becomes very difficult,” he said. “The club will not look to spend money they don’t have and that is where the club is stable, and they will always be very sensible.”
The prospect of new signings at Leicester is also low unless they manage to move assets on. Rodgers has said that a need to trim the team remains the priority before any incomings can be achieved.
“Not at this moment, no. It would have to be about trimming the squad or selling your assets. That’s something that the club are looking closely at.
“It’s where it’s at. The squad needs to get trimmed. Until that happens, I have to concentrate on the players that I have.”
Theoretically, Edu could perhaps be running down the clock to put the Foxes in a position to be more open to accepting a lesser fee for Youri Tielemans. Edu knows now that the club need to sell before they buy and with just a year left on his deal the impetus would be to find a financially beneficial solution.
Arsenal refused to go to the high prices being demanded for both Martinez and Raphinha, it is likely Edu has a price in mind for Tielemans too. With a fully fit midfield, the club don’t have the pressure to sign Tielemans hurriedly, and this cunning approach could give the Gunners the double benefit of a quality player at a lower price.
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