Arsenal are preparing to make one final attempt to sign Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans in the January transfer window. The Belgian midfielder's contract is up in the summer, with the Gunners at the front of the queue to sign Tielemans on a free transfer ahead of the 2023/24 season.
football.london reported in the summer, before the transfer window closed, that Arsenal were prepared to wait until Tielemans’ current contract expires to secure the Belgian on a free transfer the following the summer. But a recent decision over another possible midfielder target may mean Mikel Arteta and Edu will look to include Tielemans as a part of their January transfer window plans.
According to The Athletic, Palmeiras midfielder Danilo is not currently on Arsenal's radar for the winter window as Edu is aiming to find players ready to make an immediate impact given that the Gunners are top of the Premier League and have a real chance of winning the title.
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For Arsenal to be able to compete with Manchester City until the closing stages of the season, January is an important month for the club. The signings made must be able to slot straight into Arsenal's team if they really want to push Pep Guardiola's side until the very end.
football.london understands that a wide player and central midfielder are the priority areas the club are exploring. Shakhtar Donetsk star Mykhaylo Mudryk continues to be at the centre of talk surrounding a potential move to north London, while Joao Felix, following his World Cup exploits with Portugal, has emerged as a possible attacking acquisition for the Gunners.
Two central midfielders who use to be on the books of Arsenal in Yunas Musah and Ismael Bennacer have been linked with a return to Arsenal, but it now seems that Edu and Arteta have decided the midfielder they want to push for in next month's window.
The Mirror are now reporting that Arsenal are ‘ready to test Leicester’s resolve' and any decent offer in January 'will be very tempting' for the Foxes because of the financial hit taken by missing out on European football last season. The report adds that City are ‘braced’ for an offer which could be a bid around the £20 million mark, which should be enough for the club to consider selling.
In November, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers delivered his stance on Tielemans departing in January, saying "It's not something we are thinking of [selling Tielemans] and not anything the club have said we need to do. We don't want to be offloading our best players, that's for sure."
That claim on Tielemans now looks set to be tested in January where the Foxes could possibly tempted by a deal, knowing they would lose the 25-year-old on a free in the summer.
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