Arsenal and Man Utd target Youri Tielemans’ asking price revealed

Arsenal welcomed back Mohamed Elneny from the Africa Cup of Nations to take their tally of central midfielders for the remainder of the season up to four.

Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka will be the starting duo between now and May at the earliest, by which time the club will delve into the summer transfer market to bolster the position.

It’s possible that Xhaka may leave at the end of the campaign along with Elneny, therefore a variety of profiles will be sought by Mikel Arteta who will be left with an even thinner squad than he currently has.

Part of another summer spending spree could be Youri Tielemans, whose agent has already met with Edu and co at London Colney to discuss a move at the end of the season, which appears to be the end of the Belgian’s time at the King Power Stadium.

Arsenal set for Youri Tielemans transfer battle with Manchester United as Leicester set £35m price tag for Belgian midfielder

He will have just one year left to run on his deal in the summer and Leicester will aim to sell to avoid losing him for free, with Tielemans not expected to sign a new deal.

As per Belgian outlet Het Nieuwsblad (via Sport Witness), Arsenal are not alone in their interest as Manchester United have been following the 24-year-old for quite some time and look set to be in the mix when his signature is up for grabs.

Of equal intrigue is the price that the Foxes would be willing to sell at. Having previously been demanding in the region of €70m they have now been forced to slash that down to €40m (£35m) on account of his contract situation, which is a bargain for a midfielder who has been excellent since the moment he arrived in the Premier League.

Funnily enough, though, is that pretty much the moment Arsenal were linked with Tielemans at the start of the year his form has taken a nose-dive.

Brendan Rodgers’ team on the whole have been in awful shape recently, but Tielemans has certainly contributed to that with the midfielder coming under severe scrutiny for his work (or lack of) off the ball. His pace is being questioned and his fitness, too.

When on-song, however, he’s one of the more enjoyable midfielders in the league to watch. If Arsenal can secure that version of him – although there are questions marks over a Partey and Tielemans double pivot – then £35m feels like a snip.