"Arsenal has already started contacts with the player's camp" - Fabrizio Romano says Gunners have made signing 25-year-old star a priority this summer 

Renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans is at the top of Arsenal’s priority list for the summer. The Italian added that the Gunners were in contact with Tielemans’ camp “for weeks,” amid interest from two other undisclosed clubs.

Having narrowly missed out on a top-four spot in the 2021-22 season, Mikel Arteta’s side will look to improve upon their performances next term. Considering the north London outfit will also play in the Europa League next season, they require reinforcements to keep fighting on all fronts.

As per Romano, the Gunners are actively pursuing Leicester City central midfielder Tielemans to bolster their squad in the summer. Ruben Neves and Arthur Melo are also on their minds, but Tielemans is supposedly the first name on the Londoners’ list.

In his column for Caught Offside, the transfer expert wrote:

“Arsenal are taking their time in choosing the new midfielder. Ruben Neves and Arthur Melo have been two names on the list for some time, two very popular players in the club; the priority as of now goes to Youri Tielemans.”

Romano continued:

“Arsenal has already started contacts with the player’s camp for weeks and Tielemans is considered an opportunity on the market because he will not sign a new contract with Leicester City. There are two other clubs in contact with his agent, but next week it can be important to really understand if Arsenal is willing to bid for Tielemans or change their strategy. The request is around €35/40m.”

Tielemans, whose current contract runs out in June 2023, featured in 50 games for the Foxes across competitions last season, recording seven goals and five assists.

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Youri Tielemans could turn out to be an excellent signing for Arsenal

In the 2021-22 campaign, the north London club were not exactly short of creativity. From Martin Odegaard to Bukayo Saka, they had plenty of players to help carve open the opposition. What they lacked was stability in the middle of the park.

Leicester City’s Tielemans is not the most aesthetically pleasing footballer around, but he is certainly one of the most dependable. He knows how to keep himself fit, works tirelessly, and can manage to pop up with goal contributions when needed.

Most importantly, he rarely crumbles under pressure when the going gets tough, which is something the Gunners lacked in their most important matches of the 2021-22 season.

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