Arsenal may ‘move beyond’ Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans, journalist Dean Jones has told GIVEMESPORT.
The 25-year-old could be on the move in the summer transfer window, with Leicester struggling this season.
Arsenal news – Youri Tielemans
Tielemans, who is earning £120k-a-week, signed for Leicester for a fee of £40m back in 2019 from French side AS Monaco, as reported by The Guardian.
A report from Football Insider recently claimed that Arsenal had opened talks to sign Tielemans ahead of the summer transfer window, when his contract expires at Leicester.
With The Foxes sitting in 19th place in the Premier League, you’d imagine the Belgian midfielder wouldn’t be interested in renewing his contract ahead of next season.
Last summer, reports suggested that the Gunners were interested in signing Tielemans, but their situation has changed since then.
Before the campaign began, Arsenal wouldn’t have expected to have an excellent chance of lifting the Premier League title.
Now, Mikel Arteta’s side are top of the Premier League in April, so their transfer targets may change ahead of the summer transfer window.
With Champions League football all but secured, they could be shopping in a different market.
What has Jones said about Tielemans?
Jones has suggested that he’s unaware of any recent talks between Arsenal and Tielemans, with the former potentially moving on to other targets.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said: “I have been surprised to see reports of talks being opened around this because as far as I’m aware, any talks with Tielemans aren’t that recent. Arsenal do have a long-term interest in him, they obviously know about his availability, that’s common knowledge.
“But, there has also been a desire to move beyond him now because of the way the team has progressed so fast.”
How has Tielemans performed this season?
Tielemans has started 19 Premier League games, scoring three goals and providing an assist, according to FBref.
The former Monaco midfielder has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.13 this campaign, placing him second in the Leicester squad behind James Maddison.
Tielemans may feel slightly unfortunate not to have added to his single assist this term, after creating eight big chances and averaging one key pass per game.
The Leicester midfielder also averages 2.1 tackles and 64.8 touches per game, meaning he’s heavily relied upon in and out of possession at the King Power Stadium.
Many clubs around Europe could secure themselves a bargain if they manage to convince Tielemans to sign on the dotted line in the summer.
