Arsenal ‘to launch final Youri Tielemans transfer bid as club fear Leicester ace will sign January pre-contract abroad’
ARSENAL are reportedly set to launch a final transfer bid to sign Youri Tielemans next month.
The Belgian international, 25, has been chased by the North London club since last summer.
EPAArsenal are set to make a last-ditch offer for Youri Tielemans next month[/caption]
Despite entering the final 12 months of his contract, Tielemans remained at the King Power and has been crucial in helping the club recover from their poor start.
But he is free to speak to overseas clubs regarding a free transfer from January 1 with his deal expiring in June.
Leicester had been determined to keep him but an extension still appears to be off the table.
Now Arsenal are reportedly set to test the waters when the window re-opens to try and convince the Foxes to cash in while they still can.
The Daily Mirror states that “any decent offer will be very tempting for the Thai-owned Foxes whose financial fortunes have been hit this term with no European football”.
Leicester forked out £40million for Tielemans to Monaco in 2019 and know they could potentially recoup around half that fee if they sell next month.
And the Gunners hope that they can beat off any competition from abroad by snapping him up quickly.
Tielemans, who was part of Belgium’s dismal World Cup campaign, has remained tight-lipped about his future all season.
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He said back in September: “I’m not going to speak too much about my contract situation at the moment.
“My family is very happy there [in Leicester] and that’s important. I didn’t leave in the summer as I always said the project had to be the right one.
“Just because things are getting worse now at Leicester doesn’t mean I should regret [staying]. Whether you are in your last contract year or not, it’s also not the case that I talk to the club every day about my extension or not. That’s work for my agent.
“In the end I will decide. There was talk of different clubs, but I won’t go into that. I’m happy to get a bit of fresh air here [with Belgium] because it’s tough at Leicester right now. It’s clear that things are not going well at the club. We are doing everything we can as a team.
“At Leicester, the consecutive defeats have affected us as a group. We need to benefit from this break to recharge our batteries. It’s hard to get it off my mind as it keeps running through my head.
“Only my kids sometimes prevent me from thinking about it.”
