Mikel Arteta pressuring Arsenal to make transfer bid for Tottenham Hotspur target Youri Tielemans
According to The Telegraph [Subscription Required] (h/t The Sun), Mikel Arteta is currently pressuring Arsenal to make a transfer bid to sign Youri Tielemans, who is a target for Tottenham Hotspur. The midfielder’s future with Leicester City is clouded by uncertainty, having rejected several attempts to renew his contract in the past.
Tielemans has a contract at King Power Stadium until 2023, which has resulted in him getting linked with a departure this summer. The central midfielder is open to leaving Leicester even if he is not actively pushing for an exit at this point. Real Madrid and Manchester United are also in the fray alongside the two North London clubs right now.
However, Arteta is keen to add the Belgian international to his squad and wants the Gunners to make a £25million offer for that reason. The Spanish boss sees Tielemans as an ideal target who would suit his style of play, having watched him on multiple occasions. The Arsenal manager even named the midfielder as one of his top targets, indicating his eagerness to facilitate a move.
Spurs must respond!
The midfield is an area where we could use some reinforcements in the summer transfer window. After all, we only brought in Rodrigo Bentancur last January when the likes of Dele Alli, Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso moved in the opposite direction. That could leave us short-handed when we would engage on multiple fronts next season.
Even if Ndombele and Lo Celso could return from their loan spells, they may not have a future at N17 since Antonio Conte had allowed them to leave in the first place. Hence, signing Tielemans could be one of the priorities as he would bring Premier League experience while boosting the midfield’s quality in the process.
However, our bitter rivals seem to be stern competitors looking at the degree of effort they are putting in to sign Tielemans. That is further highlighted considering how their head of the UK scouting James Ellis had assessed him on several instances and was also present in the 4-1 victory over Southampton on the final matchday.
Despite that, our fans are confident that Fabio Paratici and co can beat the competition since we can offer Tielemans Champions League football as he desires. That rules out Man United as well, although the Madrid club would be another obstacle that we have to overcome.
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Then again, Tielemans would also be open to playing in Europa League, but that would not be an attractive prospect compared to the CL. Whether we can use it to our advantage and finalise a move for the 25-year-old or not remains to be seen.
The Foxes’ stance is another roadblock that could hinder our chances of signing the Belgian. It is claimed that they could be stubborn and demand over £30million for his services, which is far above the offer Arteta wants Arsenal to make. Furthermore, The Sun also states that the fee could rise up to £40million, which would give Paratici something to think about moving forward.
