Arsenal jump ahead of Barça as they push to sign Tielemans in January

Youri Tielemans is one of the midfielders that FC Barcelona had on their agenda but Arsenal look set to sign the Leciester City man.

In need of 'low cost' signings due to the club's financial situation, Barça looked at the Belgian international, whose contract ends in June 2023, making him a free agent.

But Premier League leaders Arsenal, led by Mikel Arteta, who has been following him for a long time, are willing to make an effort to sign him this January.

They are prepared to offer up to 20 million pounds, half of what Leicester paid in 2019. It would be a round deal for the Foxes, though, if they fail to renew the player's deal.

While there has been a lot of speculation about Tielemans' future, the midfielder, who has just returned from the World Cup in Qatar, has been coy about his future.

"I'm not going to talk too much about my contract situation at the moment. My family is very happy there [in Leicester] and that's important. I didn't leave in the summer because I always said that the project had to be the right one," he has said.

What he is clear about is that the situation at his current club is not the best, but he prefers to leave the negotiations about his future in the hands of his representative.

He added: "Just because things are getting worse now at Leicester doesn't mean I should regret [staying]. Whether you're in the last year of your contract or not, it's not the case that I speak to the club every day about an extension. That's work for my agent."

In addition to Barça, in the Premier League Newcastle United were also interested in Tielemans but Arsenal wants to get ahead of the competition because they want to strengthen the team to try to win the league this season.