Arsenal could turn their attention to Lens star Cheick Doucoure after cooling their interest in Youri Tielemans, according to reports.
Mikel Arteta could add another midfielder to his squad despite the addition of Fabio Vieira from Porto for £34m.
Tielemans was thought to be among the Arsenal manager’s top targets, but Sky Sports writes that the Gunners are now unlikely to make a move for the Belgium international.
Tielemans is out of contract at Leicester in 2023 and had been expected to seek pastures new ahead of next season.
But the 25-year-old could now put pen to paper on a 12-month extension at the King Power Stadium.
According to football.london, Arsenal could now turn their attention to Crystal Palace target Doucoure.
Patrick Vieira is a big fan of the Lens man, who is likewise keen to move to the Premier League.
Palace are currently the only club in for Doucoure, but the Mali international would probably prefer to join Arsenal if they were to submit an offer.
The aforementioned report states that Arteta’s side have registered an interest in the midfielder in the past.
And the 22-year-old would come relatively cheap at just £17.2m, with Lens having accepted that they will be unable to keep hold of him for another year.
Doucoure is a versatile player who also has experience of being deployed in the centre of defence, and that adaptability could appeal to Arteta.
The Arsenal boss is keen to add strength in depth to his squad this summer after his team narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification in 2021/22.
An injury to Thomas Partey towards the end of the season illustrated the need for Arsenal to bolster their options in the engine room.
Arsenal will begin the new Premier League campaign against Vieira’s Palace on August 5.
