Manchester United step up interest in Youri Tielemans

Manchester United are reportedly ready to step up interest in signing Leicester City playmaker Youri Tielemans, a target for Arsenal.

According to Ben Jacobs, Manchester United hold a genuine and growing interest in Leicester City playmaker Youri Tielemans, who is also a priority target for fellow Premier League rivals Arsenal.

Despite signing Christian Eriksen earlier in the window, the Red Devils are still keen to add more quality options to their midfield roster this summer, with Barcelona ace and former Erik ten Hag protege Frenkie de Jong emerging as their priority target. Manchester United reached a deal with Barcelona for the midfielder, but the 25-year-old has yet to accept personal terms.

In truth, a swoop for the Dutchman has proved more troublesome than expected, with a host of issues on the way. While de Jong wants the Blaugrana to repay his deferred wages, it has also been revealed that the player himself remains unconvinced about moving to Old Trafford. If he were to leave Barcelona, some reports claim it would be for Champions League-level clubs like Bayern Munich or Chelsea and not Manchester United.

With the Red Devils frustrated with playing the waiting game since the start of the summer, they could be set to turn their attention to Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans. Jacob claims Manchester United’s interest in Tielemans is “genuine” and “growing” with ten Hag believed to be an admirer of the Belgian playmaker, who is a “far cheaper and less complicated” alternative than de Jong.

Embed from Getty Images

The Leicester City metronome finds himself at something of a career crossroads. With under twelve months left to run on his deal, talks over an extension have been fruitless, and he could be allowed to leave on a cut-price deal, with Arsenal also chasing his signature.

Tielemans has enjoyed a successful stint at the King Power Stadium since arriving from AS Monaco in 2019. He led the Foxes to two fifth-place Premier League finishes in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons. And while they may have ended up slipping out of the top-four Champions League places on the final day on both occasions, Leicester  got their hands on silverware in the form of the FA Cup.

To date, he has made 158 appearances, scoring 24 goals, including the winner in the club’s 2021 FA Cup final win against Chelsea. The Belgian amassed six goals and five assists across competitions last term, but the Foxes faltered to an eighth-place finish. And having turned 25 in May, this summer appears to be the optimum time to take a step up for the benefit of his career.

Recent reports claimed that Tielemans would prefer to move to Arsenal instead of Manchester United this summer, having previously rejected the prospect of joining the Red Devils back in January when Ralf Rangnick was in-charge.

Having said that, the 25-year-old midfielder could be set to perform a dramatic u-turn on a move to Manchester United now that ten Hag is in charge, with Arsenal yet to make a formal bid for his services. With Tielemans’s departure seemingly a matter of when than if, it will be interesting to see how this one plays out.