Youri Tielemans is expected to be hot property this summer as his Leicester City contract expires in the coming months and Fraser Fletcher of Football Insider says Arsenal are one of many clubs desperate to sign him. The 25-year-old has spent four years at the King Power Stadium but had no desire to sign a new deal beyond the summer, so he’ll soon be available on a free transfer.
The report says Liverpool pulled out of the transfer race for Tielemans as Jurgen Klopp felt he wasn’t mobile enough for his style of play, but Arsenal clearly believe the midfielder could improve their squad. Newcastle and Barcelona are showing an interest in Tielemans too, so Mikel Arteta will have stiff competition for his signature this summer.
The 25-year-old joined Leicester from AS Monaco in 2019 and has made 187 appearances across the board, scoring 28 goals with 25 assists. He was a regular under Brendan Rodgers until the 50-year-old departed the club in early-April but clearly feels the grass is greener elsewhere – Leicester are 19th in the Premier League with nine games to go, so they could be relegated.
Per WhoScored, Tielemans would be second in Arsenal’s squad for tackles per game (2.1) and second for interceptions per game (0.8), so he’d improve the side in terms of turning over possession. The €30m-rated (£26m) Belgian creates one chance per game on average and averages over 50 passes per game, so he’d bring some creativity to the ranks too.
It remains to be seen whether Tielemans would walk into the side over Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard, Granit Xhaka and Jorginho, but he would be a significant improvement on the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira and Mohamed Elneny.
Smith Rowe has spent half the season injured, making only nine league appearances. The 22-year-old has amassed 148 minutes of playing time across the board, so his long-term future at the Emirates Stadium may be in doubt.
Vieira has played in 18 of Arsenal’s 29 league outings but has only started twice. He’s contributed a total of eight goals from 29 games across the board but is low down the pecking order. Tielemans would be a better replacement if Arteta is planning to trim the deadwood.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is looking to revamp his midfield this summer, but it appears the German coach has other targets in mind. However, Arsenal still face a three-way battle to sign Tielemans this summer.
