Speculation surrounding Arsenal's pursuit of new midfielders continues to drag on this summer as uncertainty over the club's plan increases.
Central midfield was said to be an area of interest to Mikel Arteta and technical director Edu ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, but a lack of progress has led to doubts about someone coming in at all. However, it could also be down to a number of things, including the inability to offload.
Arsenal have already signed four players this summer, with a fifth on the way in Oleksandr Zinchenko, but the first senior departure is yet to take place, meaning there could be a reluctance to do further business due to the current size of the squad.
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Lucas Torreira is said to be one of those free to move elsewhere, and his exit, in particular, could be a key link to any progress on the midfielder front. Earlier this summer, Leicester City's Youri Tielemans was believed to be a top target for Arteta, and there was an expectation that a deal for the 25-year-old would be completed fairly swiftly, but this has not been the case.
Talks between the club and the player's representatives have taken place over the last few months football.london understands, which suggests that much of the groundwork for a potential transfer has already been laid. This could indicate that Arsenal are indeed taking a more patient approach before revisiting a deal in the latter stages of the window.
Despite that theory, the transfer window is difficult to predict, so Arteta and Edu will no doubt have contingency plans in place. It may not be at the top of the list, but one of those plans could be to wait until next year if the latest reports are to be believed.
The Athletic are claiming that 'the odds are increasing' for Tielemans to remain at the King Power Stadium until his contract expires in the summer of 2023, adding that Brendan Rodgers will hold talks with him in the next few days. Of course, there's every possibility that this could change in the coming weeks, but there are two eventual scenarios if it doesn't.
One is Arsenal coming back for the Belgian in January when his price has decreased even further, or they may even decide to leave it until next June when he becomes a free agent.
Leicester signed Tielemans in 2019 for what was a club record fee believed to be in the region of £40m. He has since established himself as one of the most important and talented players at the club but is now said to be looking for a new challenge elsewhere.
It has been reported that his services could be available for as little as £25m this summer, and it begs the question, why hasn't anyone else shown interest? Regardless of whether Arsenal signed him now or later down the line or at all, they'd be getting an incredible bargain
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