Leicester City are now reportedly warming to the idea of letting Youri Tielemans leave the club for free next year despite strong interest this summer from Arsenal in the Belgian international.
According to the Times, the Foxes are prepared to lose Tielemans for nothing in 2023 if the midfielder does not renew his current contract or leaves the club in the next 12 months, with Arsenal being heavily linked with the 25-year-old, who can leave this summer for £25m.
The Gunners have been the favourites to land Tielemans with the player himself reportedly interested in a move to north London, with Arsenal fans even chanting the midfielder’s name in Leicester’s 4-2 loss against Mikel Arteta’s side at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.
However, despite interest from Arsenal and the player eager for a move to happen, no official offer is yet to be made, with the Gunners keen to offload more deadwood off the wage bill before making a move to sign anyone else this summer, with Tielemans the likely candidate.
Labelled as ‘incredible’ by former Tottenham defender Michael Dawson, Tielemans would bolster Arsenal’s midfield to levels not seen at the club in many years, and with the Gunners looking to make a real push for top-four this season, the Belgian international’s quality could get the north London side over the finish line.
However, with no offers and Leicester now open to letting Tielemans leave for a free next summer, Arsenal’s window of opportunity to sign the midfielder is slowly closing, and the Gunners could soon run out of time to bring the former AS Monaco star to north London this summer.
Arsenal must step-up Tielemans chase with Leicester open to star leaving for the free
Arsenal are no strangers to prolonged transfer sagas, yet the Tielemans episode of this summer has lasted for the good part of three months, and the Gunners must now look to sign the midfielder with Leicester now looking to keep the 25-year-old for the season before letting him leave for nothing in 2023.
Indeed, whilst this move could also benefit Arsenal, there’s no denying that Tielemans’ qualities would be helpful for the here and now, and the Gunners must look to sign the Belgian international before the opportunity to land the midfielder comes too late.
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