Arsenal are in pole position to land the signing of Leicester midfielder Youri Tielemans this summer, according to reports.
Mikel Arteta's side made a major effort to land a midfielder on deadline day last summer. They had multiple bids rejected by Aston Villa for Douglas Luiz.
In addition, they also made a late move for fellow Brazilian midfielder Danilo from Palmeiras. However, the Brazilian club turned down the reported €20 million bid.
The Gunners did bring in a midfielder during the window, with Fabio Vieira arriving from FC Porto. But the Portuguese dynamo prefers to operate in a more advanced midfield role.
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Arsenal want to secure a signing that can play in a deeper position, and cover for injuries.
Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka have been exceptional this season, but fans are concerned over a lack of depth if either of those two players are ruled out of action for a substantial amount of time.
Albert Sambi Lokonga can replace them, but the young Belgian midfielder is yet to put together a consistently strong run of form since joining the club from Anderlecht last summer.
In addition, Mohamed Elneny has been out of action since late August with a serious hamstring injury that will keep him out until next year.
Therefore, Arsenal have dipped into the transfer market - and are seemingly close to completing a deal for a Premier League star.
Arsenal keen on signing Youri Tielemans
According to Italian outlet Juvedipendanza, Juventus have been tracking Tielemans for a number of months, with a view to signing him on a free transfer when his Leicester deal expires next summer.
Juve do have form for this, with the likes of Emre Can, Adrien Rabiot, Angel Di Maria and Paul Pogba all joining the club for a transfer fee of zero in recent years.
However, the addition of Tielemans does not look like happening. That is because, the same source claims, Arsenal are set to win the race to sign the Belgium international this summer.
As a result, the Italian giants have moved on to other targets, with the potential deal for Tielemans quoted as seeming an 'impossible mountain to climb'.
One of those targets is Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who has also been heavily linked with the Gunners in recent weeks.
For Leicester, they are set to lose one of their star midfielders, lauded by Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers.
Speaking last year, Rodgers said (quotes via Daily Mail): "He is an outstanding player, one of Europe's top midfielders.
"He is an integral to our game and a joy to work with - a super professional. A young player with that focus is great to see."
Foxes fans will no doubt hold some hope that Tielemans might stay - but it looks as if he will be departing the club in the near future.
Topics: Youri Tielemans, Arsenal, Leicester City, Juventus, Premier League
Ryan Smart