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Arsenal have cooled their interest in Leicester City star Youri Tielemans in order to focus on a deal for Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus.
THE LOWDOWN: TIELEMANS PURSUIT
Having pulled off their first major piece of business this summer with the recent transfer of Fabio Vieira, attention is now placed on securing a deal for Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus.
However, that hasn’t stopped the Gunners looking elsewhere with the Belgian maestro one of their top midfield targets – with Fabrizio Romano saying the club must act fast if they want to make sure a deal gets over the line.
According to a report by The Sun earlier in May, it stated that the Belgian maestro was likely to join Arsenal in a possible £40 million deal in the summer transfer window.
However, latest reports indicate that the former AS Monaco man may have to wait for a move away.
THE LATEST: OTHER PRIORITIES
Goal report that Arsenal have stepped back from talks as they focus on other deals, of which Jesus is the priority.
Furthermore, speaking on the FIVE YouTube channel, David Ornstein gave his understanding of a potential Arsenal move for Youri Tielemans this summer.
Ornstein claims Arsenal’s key decision-makers are still “all in” for Tielemans, and they’d potentially like to sign him this summer. But other deals are taking priority at the moment.
THE VERDICT: BIG MISTAKE
It will seemingly come as a great source of frustration for supporters that the club could potentially be set to miss out on the former Monaco man, particularly with the centre of midfield seemingly an area that needs addressing.
With Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur also reportedly interested in the midfield ace, this news now may give the Gunners’ rivals an opening in trying to swoop and steal his signature.
The £49.5m-rated Sint-Pieters-Leeuw-born maestro could offer a lot to Arsenal with his composure in the opponent’s defensive third, enabling the Gunners to build sustained attacks, with the Belgian averaging 19.17 touches in the attacking third per 90 and maintaining a shot-creating actions average of 2.97 per 90.
Equally, the £120k-per-week maestro also compares favourably to those in his position across Europe’s top five leagues for his ball-playing quality, ranking in the top 12% for progressive passes and the top 17% for attempted passes, while also proving himself a threat in the final third as he ranks in the top 6% for total shots.
Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka and Albert Sambi Lokonga remain Arteta’s only first-team options in the middle of the park, but none of them possess the playmaking and orchestrating qualities of the former Monaco midfielder, who has continued to excel when Rodgers needs him most.
Such an all-round talent is rare to find – particularly for a reported fee of around just £30m – with Arsenal risking the wrath of their supporters should they opt against a move this summer. It will be a big mistake for the Gunners to waste even more time in pursuing a deal for the King Power playmaker.
AND in other news, Arsenal left frustrated by low-ball offer from Serie A outfit for £26m ace…
