Youri Tielemans wants deal agreed ‘soon’ after making Arsenal, Man Utd call amid fresh Leicester concern
Leicester midfielder Youri Tielemans will hold out for a move to Arsenal instead of Manchester United this summer, a report has claimed.
The Belgium international’s future remains up in the air as he is in the final year of his contract. While Leicester would love to tie him to new terms, there is a feeling of acceptance that he could move on.
And he has not been short of transfer interest so far in the current transfer window.
Arsenal have had the strongest links to Tielemans. The Leicester star is indeed a candidate for bolstering the Gunners’ midfield alongside Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
More recently, though, Man Utd have turned their attentions to Tielemans. Having added Christian Eriksen to his midfield, new United boss Erik ten Hag realises he has lost four players in that area and needs to bolster again.
According to Football Insider, Tielemans would prefer to move to the Emirates Stadium instead of Old Trafford this summer.
He therefore wants the Gunners to wrap up a deal ‘soon’ so he can be with his prospective new team-mates as early as possible before the start of the season.
However, the report claims of fresh reluctance from Leicester. The Foxes are the only Premier League side not to have made a signing this summer and so may make life hard for their rivals.
Ultimately, though, Brendan Rodgers’ side have to look at Tielemans’ future from a business perspective.
He does not look like renewing his contract, so the club should sell him this summer to avoid losing him for free at the end of next season.
And losing out on a return for a 25-year-old senior Belgium international with 120 Premier League appearances under his belt already would prove costly.
Tielemans ready for step up
Tielemans needs to move on this summer not only for the benefit of his club – if he is not signing a new contract – but for the benefit of his career.
He led the Foxes impressively to two Premier League top-four-finish near-misses in 2019/20 and 2020/21.
Leicester ended up slipping out of the Champions League places on the final day on both occasions.
Youri Tielemans will leave Leicester this summer likely for Arsenal
Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans will leave this summer as Arsenal ramp up their interest in Belgium star
However, Tielemans has proved that he can be a driving force for a top-four chasing team.
And after turning 25 in May, this summer feels like the right time to take a step up in his career.
He could of course stay at Leicester, but with the quality of the top-four-chasing pack, it could be a few seasons before Rodgers’ side are back in the hunt.
