Mikel Arteta appears to have made a clear decision over the signing of Youri Tielemans at Arsenal this season, if recent reports are to be believed. The Leicester City midfielder continues to be linked with a move to the Emirates this summer, with the manager not ruling out the potential for further additions during the transfer window.
Amid such rumours, football.london understands Arsenal are prepared to wait until Tielemans’ current contract expires to secure the Belgian on a free transfer next summer. The 25-year-old seems unlikely to sign a new deal with the Foxes at this stage, with less than 12 months remaining on his current one.
It comes after an already busy summer for Arteta in the transfer window, having spent over £100million in reinforcements for his squad. The Spaniard got his business done early, but claimed that there may be room for other signings before the end of the window.
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"We are really active as you can see with incomings and outgoings," Arteta told the press about the rest of the summer window. "Everything is still open, it’s a long window, a lot has happened, it’s incredible how much business the clubs have done across the Premier League and it shows how competitive it is and this season is not going to stop that."
Links with a move for Tielemans are said to be true, according to the Athletic. However, the report states that moving on Granit Xhaka would be the only way to make such a transfer possible this summer.
That appears to be more and more unlikely, as a separate report from the Athletic states that the Switzerland international is part of a new leadership group backing up new captain Martin Odegaard. The midfielder's status at the club, despite the fact he only has one-year remaining on his contract, shows that Arteta may have made his mind up over a deal for Tielemans.
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