Arsenal may be sparked into action following Newcastle United’s reported interest in Gunners target Youri Tielemans, with Mikel Arteta wanting to add the midfielder to his squad at the Emirates Stadium, transfer insider Dean Jones has suggested to GiveMeSport.

The 25-year-old is entering the final six months of his £120k-per-week contract at Leicester City and seems unlikely to stay at the King Power Stadium beyond the summer.

GiveMeSport Transfer Update With Dean Jones

Arsenal transfer news – Youri Tielemans

The Telegraph have reported that Newcastle are now interested in making a play for Tielemans in the January transfer market, with Arsenal’s reported interest in the Belgium international coming under threat from the Tyneside club.

Football.London suggested in the summer that the Foxes star had agreed on personal terms with the Gunners, but the club were waiting until the summer of 2023 when they could secure his signature as a free agent without having to pay a transfer fee.

The same publication understands that a midfielder is still top of the priority list for Arteta and sporting director Edu, as the Premier League leaders look to sustain a title challenge going into the second half of the campaign.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has recently told GiveMeSport that the north London side’s pursuit of the 58-time Belgium midfielder is a saga to look out for during the winter window.

And Jones believes that Newcastle’s reported interest may force Arsenal’s hand into making a bid for Tielemans during the window, rather than waiting until he becomes available as a free agent in the summer.

What has Jones said about Arsenal and Tielemans?

Jones told GiveMeSport: “Newcastle's interest in Tielemans could spark Arsenal into action because if Newcastle were to lodge a bid, that might mean Arsenal have to go and spend money on him.

“They'd prefer not to do that, they’d prefer to wait and get him on a free. But I think if Newcastle did make a bid, then that would make things pretty interesting.”

Would Tielemans be a good signing for Arsenal?

Despite being part of a Belgium side that disappointed by crashing out at the group stage of this year’s World Cup, Tielemans has had an impressive season for Leicester.

The former Monaco man has scored four goals and provided one assist in 20 appearances across the Premier League and the Carabao Cup according to Transfermarkt, suggesting he can be a goalscoring threat from the middle of the park.

An average WhoScored rating of 6.88 for his showings in the top flight so far this season ranks him as the Foxes’ second-best performing player behind James Maddison, suggesting that he is still performing to a solid basis for Brendan Rodgers’ side despite his seemingly inevitable departure.

It has seemed for a long time that Tielemans’ next destination was certain to be that of the Emirates Stadium, but a bid from Newcastle may just move the Gunners into action ahead of what could be an intriguing transfer saga over the next month.

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