Fabrizio Romano believes Arsenal should pounce on the “great opportunity” to sign Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans next year.
The transfer insider provided an update on the latest transfer talk involving the Gunners in his latest CaughtOffside column.
Arsenal were heavily linked with Tielemans all summer, with the player reportedly open to a move to the Emirates Stadium.
But in the end, the Gunners opted not to swoop for the Belgium international, whose contract expires next season.
Leicester are struggling this season, sitting bottom of the Premier League table.
Despite this, Tielemans has still managed to weigh in with two goals and an assist.
As things stand, the 25-year-old is still in line to leave next year, with his deal expiring next summer.
Romano, writing on CaughtOffside, played down the speculation linking Arsenal with Danilo.
He then gave his personal opinion about Tielemans, saying he’d be a good shout for the Gunners or any other suitors.
“There’s ongoing speculation about who Arsenal could look to sign in midfield this January,” wrote Romano.
“And one name I’m seeing more about is Danilo of Palmeiras.
“Danilo is one of the players Arsenal have been following for a long time.
“He was also discussed internally last summer but at the moment there are no talks ongoing.
“We’ll see if that changes, but for now I’d take any rumours of negotiations or bids with a pinch of salt.
“Personally, I think Youri Tielemans coming towards the end of his contract is a great opportunity on the market for Arsenal and any other club!
“They decided not to pay for him this summer, but let’s see if their plans change if or when he becomes a free agent.”
Arsenal target Tielemans – factfile
Tielemans has been superb for Leicester since joining from Monaco back in 2019.
The 25-year-old has made 185 competitive appearances for the Foxes, registering 35 goals and 31 assists.
Tielemans scored the winner for Leicester in the 2021 FA Cup final.
The “incredible” talent has also won 54 caps for Belgium, including at the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020.
“He’s an outstanding player, one of Europe’s top midfielders,” Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers said of Tielemans last year.
“He is integral to our game and a joy to work with – a super professional. A young player with that focus is great to see.”
Last year, scouting website Breaking the Lines published a comprehensive analysis of Tielemans.
‘As (Leicester) look to become a more possession dominant side, Tielemans has proven to be an excellent outlet in build-up, assured on the ball and capable of progressing play very well,’ they wrote.
‘Generally speaking, his high-level technique, intelligence, and versatility make him an asset to any team.
‘However, we’ve seen his game is much deeper when recognizes the how and why he is actually effective and what makes him special.
‘Much of this is derived from the unique traits of deception and skills with both feet which he leverages in combination in order to manipulate space for him to execute his often-perfect passes.’
In terms of player comparisons, fans on Twitter have likened him to Yohan Cabaye, Cesc Fabregas and Paul Scholes.
Meanwhile, Mikael Silvestre has likened Tielemans to Mikel Arteta in his playing days (AFTV).