Youri Tielemans only wants to join Arsenal, which could scupper Manchester United’s chances of signing the midfielder.
According to Football Insider, Youri Tielemans is eager to sign with Arsenal amid growing interest from the north London side. Manchester United are mentioned as a suitor, but as things stand, they may be forced to cease the pursuit of the Leicester City star.
Arsenal’s links to Youri Tielemans began surfacing in January when the Gunners were searching for a new midfielder. However, the north Londoners decided against signing anyone substantial in the winter market, leaving the rebuild work for the summer window.
Mikel Arteta has strengthened his squad with the acquisitions of Fabio Vieira, Marquinhos, Matt Turner, and Gabriel Jesus. In addition, the Gunners are close to signing Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City, who could strengthen the left-back slot as well as central midfield, the position where Arsenal are planning to sign Tielemans for.
The chase of the Belgian has somewhat confused Arsenal supporters, as the club have not made a concrete offer to Leicester City yet. However, multiple reports claimed the Gunners have an agreement on personal terms with Tielemans and that Edu Gaspar has already held talks regarding a potential move.
However, other reports tend to suggest the Gunners are openly looking at alternative options, despite Tielemans carrying a reasonable price tag.
Football Insider is now claiming that Tielemans only wants to sign for Arsenal and hence could snub the advances of other teams keen on him. This could come as a big blow for Manchester United, who are keeping tabs on his situation. The Red Devils have been chasing Frenkie de Jong for over two months, and it seems the midfielder is not interested in signing for Manchester United.
Now, they are set to be snubbed by Tielemans as well, who has his heart set on a move to the Emirates Stadium. As things stand, Arsenal are yet to make a formal offer to Leicester for the midfielder.
Arsenal could be aware of Tielemans’ eagerness to join them and are probably waiting to make a cut-price offer in the latter stages of the window. But as the window progresses, there are chances the Foxes might look to keep Tielemans on board, thus running the risk of seeing him leave on a free transfer next summer.
Arsenal surely need a new midfielder, and tactically, Tielemans fits into Arteta’s ideas. However, the potential arrival of Zinchenko could complicate matters in the chase for the Belgian, although the Gunners could need another player in the position in addition to the Ukrainian if he is signed to provide cover for Kieran Tierney.
