Arsenal transfer news: Gunners 'interested' in agreement with PL rivals over £49.5m star | OneFootball

Arsenal 'would be interested' in signing Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans in the long term, according to talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook.

Tielemans only has 18 months left on his current contract at the King Power Stadium and has been strongly linked with a move to one of European football's heavyweights in recent months.

What is the latest news involving Tielemans?

According to Goal, the Gunners are interested in snapping up the highly-rated 24-year-old as manager Mikel Arteta looks to strengthen his engine room options this winter.

It's believed that securing a deal in January will be tricky, though, as Leicester continue in their efforts to tie Tielemans down to fresh terms but an eventual exit is looking more and more likely.

In a recent press conference, Brendan Rodgers admitted that the Belgium international must ensure that he "looks at every option" at this stage of his career, opening the door to a potential departure.

Tielemans has established himself as one of the top midfielders in the Premier League in recent years, scoring 23 goals and laying on 22 assists in 131 appearances for the Midlands outfit, with 34 of those goal contributions coming in the top-flight.

He became a club legend last term after bagging an incredible winner in the FA Cup final against Chelsea, securing his first piece of major silverware on English soil.

Nevertheless, Tielemans may be set to seek pastures new as he looks to take the next step in his career, and Crook believes Arsenal may be among his potential suitors.

What has Crook said about Tielemans?

With Ainsley Maitland-Niles joining AS Roma on loan and Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey currently partaking in the Africa Cup of Nations, Arsenal are extremely lightweight in the middle of the park.

However, signing Tielemans this month may prove to be extremely difficult due to Leicester's ambitions, but Crook has claimed the maestro - who is valued at £49.5m by Transfermarkt - is a 'long-term' target.

He told GiveMeSport: “Youri Tielemans, I think they would be interested in bringing him in long term.”

Would Tielemans be a good signing for Arsenal?

The technically gifted maestro has been a crucial cog in Leicester's midfield for a number of years now and is continuing to go from strength to strength.

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As per WhoScored, Tielemans has averaged 1.6 key passes, 0.6 crosses and 2.1 shots per league game throughout 2021/22, placing him in the top two for each metric amongst his teammates.

Therefore, Arsenal would surely be acquiring a top-class talent should they make a move for Tielemans, and he could play a key role in Arteta's ongoing revolution.