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Arsenal are ready to make an opening offer of £25million to sign Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans…
THE LOWDOWN: TIELEMANS PURSUIT
The Gunners may well have missed out on Champions League football on the last day of the Premier League campaign, but boss Mikel Arteta will not allow that to deter him from securing his top targets this summer, and the Foxes midfielder is on the top of the list.
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.
But Real Madrid, who the player has previously preferred, will be waiting in the wings to pounce had the Gunners failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
However, latest reports indicate that the former AS Monaco man still remains Arsenal’s top target, and the north London outfit are pushing for a move.
THE LATEST: PUSHING FOR MOVE
According to the Telegraph, the Gunners are reportedly preparing to make an opening bid for Youri Tielemans worth £25m.
Arteta has identified Tielemans as one of his leading summer targets, with the Arsenal manager making a number of background checks on the Belgium international.
The report goes on to state that the playmaker has been watched consistently this season by Arsenal’s head of UK scouting James Ellis, who was at the King Power Stadium on Sunday for Leicester’s 4-1 win over Southampton.
THE VERDICT: BUZZING
Tielemans has been an important piece for a Leicester side who have balanced European football with the Premier League this season.
The Belgian has registered six goals and three assists in the Premier League and has implemented consistency into Rodgers’ side ever since his permanent move from Monaco in the summer of 2019 – having contributed with at least nine goal returns in his last three full seasons for the Foxes.
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.
The £120k-per-week dynamo has also impressed in metrics more typical of his midfield position, registering an average of 0.7 interceptions, 2.3 tackles, 44.6 accurate passes, 2.3 long balls and winning 45.0 duels – at a success rate of 51% – per fixture.
These returns have seen the former AS Monaco starlet average a quite remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.08, ranking him as Brendan Rodgers’ fourth-best player in the English top flight.
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.
Gunners supporters will be excited with the potential signing of a player who not only fits their style of play, but adds much-needed depth to an engine room that has lacked quality reinforcements this season.
AND in other news, £9m-rated Arsenal benchwarmer could leave the Emirates, as Benfica line-up £8.5m move…
