Arsenal to face Real Madrid competition for 40m summer signing

Arsenal are facing competition for £40m rated Youri Tielemans as Real Madrid stand ready to pounce on the Belgian should the Gunners fail to qualify for Champions League football this season.

The Leicester City central midfielder is set to leave the King Power Stadium this summer, with just one year left to run on his contract in the midlands at the end of this season and no signs that he is planning on penning a new one.

This means that he will be available at a cut-price, with a fee as low as £25m even being mentioned for the 24-year-old, who is valued at double that by transfermarkt.

Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans during the Premier League match at the King Power Stadium, Leicester. Picture date: Saturday April 23, 2022. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)

It has caught the attention of Arsenal, who are keen to strengthen in central midfield this summer. And, as per the Sun, ‘there is growing confidence from the player’s camp and the Emirates club that Tielemans will be an Arsenal player next season’

Real Madrid in the wings

However, there is a catch, in the form of Champions League football, with Real Madrid waiting in the wings should the Gunners fail to make 4th in the Premier League table their own.

And the Spanish side would have little problem convincing the Belgian to swap England for Spain.

As per Belgian football journalist Sacha Tavolieri, Tielemans has already told those closest to him that he would prefer a move to Spain over remaining in England this summer.

He claims that ‘Youri Tielemans told those around him his preference for a departure to Spain’, something which means that the likes of both Madrid sides and Barcelona will surely be taking notice.

In the case of Los Blancos, it could be a formality, with Tavolieri adding that ‘Real Madrid, interested, could position themselves concretely in the coming weeks’.

That, however, depends on how Arsenal finish the season.

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Manchester City	34	63	83
2	Liverpool FC	34	64	82
3	Chelsea FC	34	39	66
4	Arsenal FC	34	13	63
5	Tottenham Hotspur	34	20	61
6	Manchester United	36	5	58
7	West Ham United	35	7	52
8	Wolverhampton Wanderers	34	1	49
9	Brighton & Hove Albion	35	-8	44
10	Newcastle United	35	-16	43
11	Leicester City	33	-6	42
12	Crystal Palace	34	3	41
13	Aston Villa	33	-2	40
14	Brentford FC	35	-11	40
15	Southampton FC	35	-17	40
16	Burnley FC	34	-15	34
17	Leeds United	34	-34	34
18	Everton FC	33	-20	32
19	Watford FC	34	-37	22
20	Norwich City	34	-49	21

Player	Team	Goals
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	22
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	20
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	18
Jota, Diogo	Liverpool FC	15
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	14
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	13
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace	13
Toney, Ivan	Brentford FC	12
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	11
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	11
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City	11
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	10
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	10
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	10
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	10
Pukki, Teemu	Norwich City	10
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City	10
Raphinha	Leeds United	10
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City	10
Smith-Rowe, Emile	Arsenal FC	10

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
Brownhill, Josh	Burnley FC	0	10
Bednarek, Jan	Southampton FC	0	10
Tarkowski, James	Burnley FC	0	10
Bissouma, Yves	Brighton & Hove Albion	0	10
Firpo, Junior	Leeds United	0	10
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	0	9
Gallagher, Conor	Crystal Palace	0	9
Neves, Ruben	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	9
Mings, Tyrone	Aston Villa	0	9
Xhaka, Granit	Arsenal FC	1	8
Mctominay, Scott	Manchester United	0	9
Salisu, Mohammed	Southampton FC	0	8
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	0	8
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	0	7
Richarlison	Everton FC	0	8
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	1	7
Alonso, Marcos	Chelsea FC	0	8
Moreno, Rodrigo	Leeds United	0	8
McGinn, John	Aston Villa	0	8
Cash, Matty	Aston Villa	0	8

Player	Team	Assists
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	13
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	12
Robertson, Andy	Liverpool FC	10
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	9
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	9
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	9
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	8
Jesus, Gabriel	Manchester City	8
Kulusevski, Dejan	Tottenham Hotspur	8
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	7
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	7
Barnes, Harvey	Leicester City	7
Mbeumo, Bryan	Brentford FC	7
Cancelo, Joao	Manchester City	7
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	6
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	6
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	6
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	6
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	6
Maddison, James	Leicester City	6