Arsenal tipped to snub James Maddison move and sign much bigger Arteta ‘need’ instead
Former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell believes the Gunners will try and seal the transfer of Youri Tielemans ahead of his Leicester City teammate James Maddison this summer.
Tielemans, who is a target for a number of Premier League clubs, is expected to quit the King Power at the end of the season, by which time he will only have a year remaining on his Foxes contract.
Arsenal, along with north London rivals Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool have all been tipped to make a move for the Belgian over the course of the last two years. Indeed, the player is said to be available for just £25million.
But Tielemans is not the only Leicester player on Mikel Arteta’s radar. The £70m-rated Maddison also emerged as a top target last summer.
However, Campbell believes that Tielemans is the midfielder who Mikel Arteta will target over Maddison. That is down to the fact that Arsenal are already well-stocked in the playmaking department after Martin Odegaard’s arrival last summer.
Speaking to Football Insider, Campbell said: “I think Youri Tielemans is the one they will be looking at.
“I could be wrong on that but I think the ship has sailed with Maddison. We have Odegaard now so spending another £50 million on an attacking midfielder, I just don’t see it.
“Tielemans is a player Arsenal need. He has a different game to Maddison.
“I’m sure Arteta will see him as our type of player. For me, Tielemans is the one and I hope we can get that deal done in the summer.”
Outstanding Tielemans in-demand
Tielemans has emerged as one of the Premier League’s top midfielders since arriving in England in 2019.
The Belgium international has played a major role in the Foxes securing successive fifth-placed finishes. He also scored the winning goal in the FA Cup final against Chelsea last season.
A move to a bigger Premier League club is now expected for the 24-year-old. And Arteta has already admitted that he will be on the hunt for new players in the summer.
Speaking last week, when asked if he expects a busy summer, Arteta said: “I am expecting so, yes.
“I think both competitions [the Champions League and Europa League] require a much larger squad because the amount of games you play is much bigger in both, so I don’t think [which you qualify for] makes a lot of difference or changes a lot.”
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