Arsenal have supposedly cooled their interest in Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans.
The Belgium international is only under contract at the King Power Stadium for another 12 months and has been widely expected to head for the exit door ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Arsenal are understood to have identified Tielemans as a priority target to bolster their midfield, with his contract situation raising hopes of a cut-price deal.
The Gunners have supposedly been confident about their chances of getting a deal over the line, but they are yet to table an official offer to Leicester as talks continue.
In a twist of events, Sky Sports News reporter Rob Dorsett has instead claimed that Arsenal have taken a step back in their pursuit of the 25-year-old, who could now stay at Leicester.
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Dorsett adds that Tielemans could now elect to sign a one-year contract extension at Leicester, which would keep him on the books at the King Power Stadium until the summer of 2024.
Leicester and Tielemans are still said to possess a "very cordial" relationship, and Arsenal may only end up signing one midfielder in the current transfer window.
Tielemans arrived at Leicester for a £40.5m in 2019 after impressing during a six-month loan spell and has gone on to register 24 goals and 24 assists in 158 games for Brendan Rodgers's side in all tournaments.
The former Monaco man scored the winning goal in the 2020-21 FA Cup final against Chelsea and also lifted the Community Shield with the Foxes a couple of months later.
Tielemans ended the 2021-22 season with seven goals and five assists from 49 matches continentally and domestically, but Leicester could only muster an eighth-placed finish in the Premier League.
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As a result, Arsenal's only midfield acquisition of the summer window could be Fabio Vieira, whose imminent move to the Emirates was confirmed by Porto on Friday morning.
The Gunners will pay an upfront fee of €35m (£29.9m) for the 22-year-old, which could rise to €40m (£34.2m) with add-ons, and he has signed a five-year deal in North London.
Vieira completed his medical on Friday afternoon and will likely be announced as an Arsenal player at some point over the weekend or early next week, which will see him become the Gunners' second signing of the summer after Marquinhos.
Arsenal are continuing to work on a deal to sign Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus, but Eddie Nketiah's new five-year deal is expected to be confirmed in due course.
Despite the return of William Saliba from Marseille, Arsenal are also said to be keen to bolster their defensive options with the signing of Ajax's Lisandro Martinez.
Ben Knapton
