Arsenal are reportedly preparing to table a £30m offer for Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans.
The Belgium international has now entered the final 12 months of his contract with Brendan Rodgers's side and could leave on a free transfer in 2023 as things stand.
Arsenal have long-been linked with a summer swoop for Tielemans, who is believed to have already agreed personal terms with the North London giants.
However, Mikel Arteta and Edu put their midfield search on the back burner while prioritising the signatures of other targets, but the Gunners could now be ready to reignite their interest in Tielemans.
According to The Sun, Arsenal are finally set to approach Leicester with an official bid for Tielemans and are set to formulate a £30m package for the Foxes to consider.
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The report claims that Arsenal are optimistic about their chances of sealing a deal for the 25-year-old at that price, despite interest from Manchester United and Newcastle United.
Tielemans has supposedly been identified as an ideal cut-price alternative to two of Arsenal's other midfield targets in Wolverhampton Wanderers' Ruben Neves and Lazio's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Wolves are said to be demanding a mammoth £75m to part ways with Neves, while Lazio are not prepared to consider offloading Milinkovic-Savic for anything lower than £50m.
Leicester boss Rodgers does not want to see Tielemans leave the club this summer, but the Foxes may be forced to accept a cut-price sale given his contract situation, and the midfielder is keen to make the move to the Emirates Stadium.
Tielemans arrived at Leicester permanently for a £40m in 2019 after a successful loan spell from Monaco, and the midfielder has produced 24 goals and 24 assists in 158 games for the club in all tournaments.
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The 2021-22 season saw Tielemans bank seven goals and five assists from 49 appearances, and he hit double figures in goal contributions in 32 Premier League matches.
Tielemans also scored the winner for Leicester in their 2020-21 FA Cup final win over Chelsea, which came a couple of months before the ex-Anderlecht man won the Community Shield with Rodgers's side.
Should Tielemans complete a £30m switch to Arsenal, he would become the club's fifth arrival of the summer window after Matt Turner, Marquinhos, Fabio Vieira and Gabriel Jesus.
The Belgian's arrival could also open the door for Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Lucas Torreira to leave on permanent deals, although neither man is believed to have been the subject of a serious bid from another club yet.
Arsenal have already beaten Ipswich Town 5-1 in a friendly this month and prepare for their first game on tour against 2. Bundesliga side Nuremberg on Friday afternoon.
Ben Knapton
