Arsenal ‘frontrunners’ to land Leicester ace despite Ten Hag push for Man Utd signing; new Foxes deal ‘unlikely’

Leicester midfielders Youri Tielemans and James Maddison

Arsenal are reportedly leading the race for Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans despite Manchester United getting involved recently, while a new Foxes contract is ‘unlikely’.

Tielemans’ future has been debated for some time now. He has entered the final six months of his deal at the King Power, setting up the possibility of a free transfer this summer.

Tielemans was expected to depart Leicester for a reduced price during the January transfer window. But he postponed a move to another team as he wants to see out the campaign with Leicester.

There have been a couple of big updates on Tielemans’ situation recently. On Tuesday, Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb revealed Borussia Dortmund have set their sights on the Belgian.

And on Wednesday, Football Transfers detailed Man Utd’s push to sign him. Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag is reportedly keen on a huge double swoop for Tielemans and one of his Leicester team-mates.

Football Insider now provide their information on Tielemans, and it is good reading for Arsenal fans. Mikel Arteta’s side are ‘the current frontrunners’ to snare him from Leicester on a free transfer in the summer.


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Arsenal have been in contact with the midfielder, his agent and Leicester in the past. This groundwork they have put in places them at the front of the queue to complete a deal.

The report notes that Newcastle United and Barcelona are also interested in Tielemans. But those two sides, along with Man Utd and Dortmund, now look set to miss out to Arsenal.

Leicester man hoping to move with new contract ‘unlikely’

There is still hope at Leicester that Tielemans will cause a shock and extend his contract with them. But Football Insider call this outcome ‘unlikely’. The player knows he is in demand and wants to cash in on his free-agent status at the end of the season.

Tielemans would be a great signing for Arsenal if that transfer goes through. Since moving to Leicester in 2019, he has proven himself to be one of the most reliable midfielders in the Premier League.

He has played in the Champions League with Anderlecht and Monaco, as well as the Europa League during his time at Leicester.

Tielemans is also a leader in the Foxes dressing room. He captained Brendan Rodgers’ team in every league game between October 15 and December 26 this season. This experience will prove incredibly useful to Arteta.

The potential Arsenal signing is even better when you consider there will be no transfer fee. Leicester have previously put his valuation at £50million, which shows just how clever this piece of business would be.

In addition to Arsenal capturing Tielemans, they are also sorting out new contracts for their existing midfielders. After tying down Mohamed Elneny, attention has now turned to one of his midfield team-mates.