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Football London
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Kieran Horn

Arsenal given Youri Tielemans transfer boost as Leicester eye possible replacement

Arsenal have been heavily linked with a variety of central midfielders both in the latter stages of the summer transfer window and as January approaches. Mikel Arteta attempted to solve any problems in midfield by poaching Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz on deadline day but saw three bids rejected.

The panic move for the Brazilian midfielder came after Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny suffered potential long-term injuries at the exact same time, but Villa held firm and have since tied down Luiz to a new long-term contract.

Despite being unable to add another midfielder to their squad, Arteta's side have shot to the top of the Premier League table winning 10 of their 12 matches with Granit Xhaka and Partey starring in a midfield duo.

READ MORE: Arsenal's best and worst-case Europa League scenario with chance to receive round of 16 bye

Although the Gunners are set to welcome back Elneny to the first-team picture, speculation around players wanted by Arsenal suggest the club are in the market for a forward and central midfielder. In regards to the former, Arsenal have been keeping tabs on Shakhtar Donetsk forward Mykhailo Mudryk while RB Salzburg's Noah Okafor has recently emerged as a potential target.

In the midfield department, the Express are reporting that a January move is being weighed up for Palmeiras' Danilo with the 21-year-old continuing to impress after claims that club scouts were sent to watch a recent outing.

Naby Keita, whose Liverpool contract is up in the summer of 2023, has also been a name linked with the Gunners, while Leicester midfielder Youri Tielemans is a wanted man with his contract also up next summer.

Arsenal have long been admirers of the Belgian midfielder and despite Brendan Rodgers' attempts to keep the 25-year-old at the club beyond his current contract, a new report has emerged that the Foxes could be preparing for life without Tielemans. According to 90min, Leicester are one of several clubs who are currently keeping a close eye on Lorient midfielder Enzo Le Fee.

The 22-year-old has started all of Lorient's Ligue 1 games this season, grabbing two goals and two assists and with his pedigree more as an attacking midfielder he could definitely also be considered a possible James Maddison replacement with the Englishman linked with Spurs and Newcastle.

Even with the heavy speculation around his future, Tielemans has featured in all 13 of the Foxes' Premier League games this season but the club's interest in Le Fee could indicate he will be on his way out at the end of the season with north London as a possible destination.

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