Newcastle United ‘one to watch’ in transfer battle with Arsenal and Manchester United

Newcastle United are reportedly preparing a bid for Leicester City and Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans.

The Foxes star has been the subject of interest from the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal as he moves into the final 12 months of his current deal at the King Power Stadium.

Tielemans has established himself as one of the Premier League’s most consistent midfielders since he joined Leicester from French club Monaco in January 2019.

After impressing during an initial loan spell, the Foxes opted to convert the temporary deal into a permanent move and quickly reaped the benefits of their decision.

The talented midfielder wrote his name into Foxes folklore in May last year and he scored a stunning goal to help his side see off Chelsea to become FA Cup winners for the first time in their history.

Talks over extending his time at the King Power Stadium are yet to reach a successful conclusion and Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has previously admitted his star midfielder has a big decision to make this summer.

Speaking in March, he said: “He’s got a big choice to make at some point, Youri, but as I’ve repetitively said, we’ve no concern with his mentality, we’d love him to stay, we want him to stay, he’s been a massive part of my time here.

“It’s a real pleasure to work with him and see his progress as well but he has to take his time and decide and if he feels that this is the place for him to be, absolutely brilliant, we’ll be delighted, as will the supporters.

“But I always respect the choice of a player, as I’ve said many times, as long as they’re committed and give everything and behave as you’d expect then they’ll be no drama on that.”

Arsenal were believed to be leading the race to sign Tielemans but CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs has suggested there is a ‘growing feeling’ Newcastle will now push to sign the Belgian international and suggested Magpies sporting direcor Dan Ashworth has already made enquiries over a potential move.

Speaking via his Twitter, Jacobs stated the Magpies biggest challenge could be ‘convincing’ Tielemans how he would fit into midfield alongside Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes and Jonjo Shelvey but also called the situation ‘one to watch’.