Arsenal given hope in Barcelona chase for Tielemans

Cameron Smith

• 6 Dec 2022 05:07 CST
• 3 min read

Arsenal's hopes of signing Leicester City and Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans have received a boost with news that Barcelona are not currently winning the race to land him.

The 25-year-old has been heavily linked with a move away from Leicester for several months but wasn't able to leave the club during the summer transfer window. As a result, he will become a free agent in 2023, meaning several clubs around Europe have begun to take notice.

Arsenal's interest in the players stretches back months, but they have recently been joined by Barcelona in the race to sign him. The two clubs are expected to go head-to-head in a bid to persuade the Belgian to join them.

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The Blaugrana have used the free transfer market on a regular basis in recent years, due to their financial struggles, and Tielemans could become the latest player to arrive without a transfer fee attached to their name. He would be joining the likes of Franck Kessie, Memphis Depay and Andreas Christensen in doing so.

However, Arsenal have been long-time admirers of the Belgian international and reportedly see him as potential competition for Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey in their central midfield area.

Furthermore, Voetbal Primeur have previously reported that Tielemans has an agreement in place to join Arsenal in 2023, despite Barcelona's interest.

READ: Xavi interested in bringing Youri Tielemans to Barcelona

Now, there has been a further update on the story, with news that Tielemans is yet to formally give his word to any club.

Tielemans hasn't agreed to join Barcelona

With links to Barcelona growing, Fabrizio Romano has given a boost to Arsenal, revealing to Caught Offside: "Tielemans has not given his word to any club, yet. It’s still open and he will decide at the right moment.

"Barcelona are linked to all the free agent players on the market as they always monitor the free agents' market, but it’s not something advanced as things stand."

The former AS Monaco midfielder has been a revelation at the King Power Stadium, but it appears that his time at the club is coming to an end with Europe's elite sides chasing him.

But there currently doesn't appear to be a front-runner, with Tielemans yet to agree terms with any club across the continent, leaving the race to sign him wide open.