Ask any Arsenal fan right now and all of them will say we need to make at least one more signing before the transfer window shuts on September 1st.
Top of that list is now a new central midfielder following the news that Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey would be out with injury for a number of weeks.
And as Edu and Arteta weigh up their plans to end the transfer window, the chance of bringing in a sixth summer signing are getting slimmer as time goes on.
However, in the latest update from the Youri Tielemans saga we have now learned the fee that Leicester City are holding out for if they sell the unhappy midfielder.
According to an update from Sky Sports’ North East correspondent, Keith Downie, the Gunners will need to pay £25m if they want to sign the Belgian.
Youri Tielemans is available if a club meets Leicester’s asking price before the deadline – namely £25m according to @RobDorsettSky. The Belgian has less than a year left on his contract.
— Keith Downie (@SkySports_Keith) August 31, 2022
It’s believed Leicester will do everything they can to ensure Tielemans doesn’t leave for free when his contract comes to an end in the summer of 2023.
And therefore it’ll either be a case of selling this summer or looking to get the 25-year-old to sign a one-year extension to his current deal.
Essentially, what we now know is if Tielemans isn’t an Arsenal player on September 2nd then it was simply because Arsenal didn’t rate him highly enough.
A fee of £25m isn’t out of reach and would immediately fix the situation Arsenal find themselves in with a lack of options across midfield.